Jojo'sBizarreAdventure Part 6,1: Dark Passion Play
by Gold Experience Requiem
Summary: Ranma died when he arrived in Nerima. But another soul took possession of his body. Someone dangerous, powerful, who witnessed the end of his world and who bows to no one. Watch out Nerima, Jotaro Kujo appears and he strikes hard and fast. M for violence
1. Prologue: The Pharao Sails To Orion

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Foreword: It is not a crossover, not exactly. It just takes elements from Jojo's. No actual knowledge of Jojo's is needed, although it would help to understand the main character better and to recognize some references to the series. For that matter, no actual knowledge of Ranma is needed either, but you wouldn't be reading this if that was the case, would you?

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

Prologue: The Pharaoh Sails To Orion

Cap Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A, 2012 (maybe)

Jotaro Kujo, the man currently wearing a blue trenchcoat-length school uniform jacket with yellow chains hanging from the left side of the collar and a school cap with a small card on its rim that let uncertain where his hair actually started, was known to be relatively unflappable. He rarely displayed anything but aloofness or irritation. It had taken the murder of his grandfather to make him lose control of his temper, even though the old fox had been revived later. As of 1999, Koichi Hirose could proudly state that he was the first man since Jean-Pierre Polnareff in 1989 to have seen him smile, just after being almost gutted and blown up. Finally, Jolyne Kujo, Jotaro's daughter, could pretend to be the only one to have ever seen unadulterated fright on Jotaro's face just before she was almost shot by Jongali A.

So all in all, the number of times when Jotaro lost his composure could be counted on the fingers of two hands, maybe even one since even when losing his calm, Jotaro remained extremely composed. It was reflected by his Stand, this projection of vital energy that took the form of a tall green-skinned man with a mane of dark green hair and a black form-fitting armour. The entity that Jotaro could call forth at will and that could only be perceived by other Stand Users also wore a golden circlet with a red gem, golden ear protections, ornate shoulder and elbow protections and fingerless gloves with several round metallic pins. The Stand was monstrously strong, could punch through granite at high speed and was precise enough to stop a bullet by catching it with its fingers or to do brain surgery with a butcher knife. The Stand looked fearsome and intimidating, especially since it looked extremely detached, except when it was screaming its war cry "Ora!Ora!". It responded to the name Star Platinum.

It was what had given Jotaro the reputation of being a very cold man, however unjustified it were. It actually helped him a lot since he was the main coordinator of the Speedwagon Foundation's actions regarding Stand Users. When dealing with underlings, being able to instigate respect without actually doing anything was always a good thing. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly help when it came to his family. His grandfather and his mother were used to him being aloof and knew he hid how much he exactly cared. It was his wife and daughter that caused him problems.

His wife had known he cared despite not showing it. She even knew and understood why he had distanced himself from her, even though she didn't like it. It had taken almost all of Jotaro's will to distance himself from her and even more to convince her that she should find a man who could love her without endangering her. This event could have pretended to be the worst part of Jotaro's life save for one factor. Said factor was none other than Jolyne Kujo, Jotaro's daughter.

Jolyne, contrary to her mother, had taken Jotaro's avoidance rather hard. He had thought that she shouldn't know that she was in danger and his – now – former wife agreed with him. Unfortunately, it had led to Jolyne actually first feeling abandoned, then despising and finally outright hating her father. That had clearly broken Jotaro's heart. And the worst part was that he couldn't even let it out if he wanted to protect Jolyne efficiently. He had thus kept his sadness to himself and now was used to hide behind his emotionless mask.

For all the good it had done.

Despite Jotaro's foresight, Jolyne had been framed for murder and sent into a woman's prison, Green Dolphin Street, Florida, where she obviously was a better target for the people who wanted him. She had involuntarily acted as bait for Jotaro and he had had no other choice but to come and rescue her. He had nearly broken in tears when she told him that she never wanted to see him again but that hadn't stopped him from giving his soul and Stand in exchange for her safety. Even though that was what Enrico Pucci has aimed at all along. The only good thing that had come out of it was that Jolyne thus learnt why her father had been so distant and was now respecting him for it, going as far as wearing the same clothes Jotaro wore and even going after Dio Brando's legacy.

For all the good it had done.

While Jotaro's body had been put in suspended animation and his soul had been thoroughly perused by Enrico Pucci, Jolyne had had to fight for her life and the life of her new friends several times while trying to unravel Pucci's plan. Even worse, it had all been for naught. She had been an integral part in helping Pucci's plan to come to fruition. She might have learnt a lot about life and about herself while trying to get her father's soul back, it had been irrelevant in stopping Pucci. The worst part about that was that it could have been resolved easily. Jotaro could have contacted one or several of his fellow Stand Users and it would have been a piece of cake. Some of them were easily more dangerous than he was so it would have worked. But no, he had not talked about it to anyone. He was always ashamed about how he treated his daughter and the fact that she hated him, so he had made the rescue a secret operation of the Speedwagon Foundation.

That had been his worst mistake.

Since it had been a secret operation, the submarine's crew hadn't talked about the rescue mission to anyone, including Joseph Joestar, who would have done something if he had known. When Jolyne had brought back her father's body and told them that she was going to hunt for his soul, they had no other real choice but to trust her. Given that it was a secret operation they couldn't call for help unless Jotaro was dead and since he wasn't they had decided to trust Jolyne to bring back Jotaro's Soul Disk and Stand Disk and in a way this trust had been justified since Jolyne had managed to get both disks back and bring them to her father's body.

For all the good it had done.

Meanwhile, Pucci had managed to complete his Requiem Stand, C-Moon, which altered gravity in a three kilometre wide sphere. Seeing that Jolyne had decided to fight the monster head-on, Jotaro had had little choice but to send a message for help to the rest of the Speedwagon Foundation and the other Stand Users before going after his daughter at Cap Canaveral. It had seemed for a while that Jolyne and her comrades would manage to defeat Pucci, especially when Jotaro finally joined them.

But the respite had been too short.

While hijacking a display space shuttle (Jotaro suspected that he had used C-Moon's power to make it fly) Pucci had managed, through a process no one, save perhaps Jolyne and Emporio, even knew, to make his own Requiem Stand evolve into what would have been Dio Brando's Requiem Stand, Made In Heaven. This new Stand, looking like a centaur missing its front legs with clocks on his hands, had been their downfall.

What people knew about Jotaro's Stand, Star Platinum, was that its power was to stop time for everything but its user for a handful of seconds, five at its maximum, a precious time which enabled Jotaro to avoid just about every small area effect from whatever attack he was subjected to. That was a common misconception Jotaro had made no effort to correct, as it worked quite well in his favour. Only Polnareff and Joseph ever knew Star Platinum's ability for what it really was. It didn't stop time, not really. It slowed its flow for everything but Jotaro to such levels that it allowed Jotaro to comparatively achieve a speed beyond the speed of light for five of his perception of seconds. It wasn't that much different from stopping time, really, since everything seemed to freeze for Jotaro when he used the misnamed Time Stop. He still didn't know how he could still interact with the world or even perceive it since the laws of relativity should have prevented such a thing but he was grateful for that. And after all, given that he became faster than light itself, he was beyond the laws of relativity.

Unfortunately, this small difference was all that was needed for Made In Heaven to exploit.

Made In Heaven had the terrible power of being able to accelerate gradually the flow of time for everything in the universe save living beings, excluding Pucci himself. At the beginning of the effect of this power, people would for example nearly die in an elevator when it went down at a way too high speed. Or they would freeze on the spot when they entered a cold storage area. However, as the time accelerating effect picked up, people started to die all over the world.

Jotaro realised too late that Pucci was too fast for him to follow even during Star Platinum's Time Stop.

And the worst had yet to come.

Made In Heaven also had C-Moon's power, which was the alteration of gravity. However, unlike C-Moon, it didn't have a limited radius. It was currently affecting the whole universe, starting with the farthest parts. Some galaxies were now clearly visible, which meant that the universe was collapsing. That wasn't even the worst of it. The time acceleration didn't seem to have a limit either and was steadfastly picking up. A collapsing phenomenon that should have taken billions of years to occur was happening in what felt like minutes to Jotaro. It wasn't the only viewable effect of the time acceleration. Buildings were decaying at an alarming pace. Continents were drifting so fast that the naked eye could see it. The sun and the moon were visible at all time but never distinguishable, since they just left a bright trail in the sky. The only reason Jotaro, Jolyne and their friends Emporio Alnino, Hermes Costello and Narciso Anasui hadn't been ejected from earth due to its rotation was the alteration of gravity. Jotaro was starting to feel the conflicting effects of both forces and was wondering how long their bodies would last.

Sadly, he needn't have worried.

In one movement, Made In Heaven managed to punch through Anasui's Stand, Diver Down, with Jolyne's own Stand, Stone Free. Jotaro had then stopped time and tried to reach him to finally dispose of him but Pucci had anticipated this and had sent a rain of knives at Jolyne. Jotaro had to choose between saving his daughter and killing Pucci. He chose his daughter without hesitation. That was his downfall. Pucci had the time to get away from him and as soon as the Time Stop ended, he cut Hermes's arms and cleaved Jotaro's head in two. Jotaro lost control of his body, although his Stand remained. Before he fell down, Jotaro noticed the drowned form of his daughter with a knife in her belly.

Jotaro hit a pit of despair at that moment. He hadn't managed to save his daughter. She had been hurt by Pucci and was about to get killed by him. And the rest of the world was likely to follow. And it was mostly his fault. He could have averted most of it if he hadn't been so unwilling to rely on others. One would think he would have learnt his lesson against Dio Brando and Yoshikage Kira but he actually only relied on people when he had no other choice. And he hadn't had the time to do so this time. He watched helplessly as Emporio futilely threatened Pucci with a gun before Jolyne's Stand grabbed him and took the both of them away with a dolphin's help. He couldn't help them, neither could Hermes and Anasui. Their Stands were all close-ranged ones and Jolyne and Emporio were too far. Pucci too for that matter. Jotaro saw Pucci begin the chase before his body couldn't support itself and he fell face down in the water.

His Stand, however, allowed him to see the end of all that is. He managed to notice that Saturn and Jupiter had just collided into one another. They were roughly the same size as the Moon to his eyes now. The Moon itself was invading the sky while the Sun, though nothing more than a trail in the sky, was vaporizing the atmosphere. The noise of this cataclysm was deafening.

_'Astronomers would kill to observe something like this, if they could survive it that is,'_ thought Jotaro grimly.

Just then, the Moon crashed into the ocean, starting a kilometres-high tidal wave. The sky was filled with fire due to the Sun's closeness. With the help of Star Platinum, Jotaro noticed Giorno Giovana, the only one of Dio's sons who was still alive and the only one who ever befriended the Joestars. Giorno looked worse for wear, covered with cuts and with an arm missing. Just when the remains of a space shuttle were about to crash into him, Star Platinum's Time Stop activated by itself.

Everything seemed suspended and silenced, even Pucci, who was so sure of his eventual victory that he had synced himself with the rest of the remaining living beings and was now taunting Jolyne's corpse while going after Emporio.

The sound of a voice across the silence seemed deafening.

"You seem at the end of your time," stated Gold Experience Requiem.

Giorno Stand stood in front of Jotaro, which was strange since Gold Experience Requiem was a close-ranged Stand and Giorno was about two hundred metres away.

"But appearances can be deceiving," it finished. It then looked towards Jolyne. Jotaro noticed that the limit of the Time Stop had been breached. It wasn't Star Platinum's doing. Jotaro turned towards it and noticed that his Stand was frozen. It itself was under the Time Stop. Jotaro then noticed that he could move. Knowing that it shouldn't be so, given the state of his body, he turned around again and saw his own still and cut body in the water. His soul had gone out of it.

"I am appearing like that to every soul I have touched, which includes your daughter. Unfortunately, Miss Costello, Mister Anasui and Mister Alnino weren't touched by me. So I can't help them," it added before fixing its gaze on Jotaro.

"You, however, as well as your daughter, I can help," it said to a flabbergasted Jotaro.

Jotaro's mind was now working at a furious pace. This wasn't the end! He could still save his daughter. Giorno had often said that he himself couldn't fathom precisely his Stand's powers. There apparently was another one.

"I cannot tell my user about what is going to occur. I hope he finds out by himself," continued Gold Experience Requiem. "I'll be able to preserve his body. Yours, I cannot. But I can preserve your souls and send them into other bodies, much like Silver Chariot Requiem did."

Jotaro, thinking extremely fast about it, found the logical flaw about this reasoning. However, before he could find a way to point it out, Giorno's Stand interrupted him.

"Of course, you were going to ask what the use is when the world is collapsing," said the robot-like entity. "Well, you'll have to think broader." It paused before resuming.

"Remember Hayato Kawajiri's power," it just said. And everything became clear for Jotaro.

Hayato Kawajiri wasn't a Stand User when he befriended Jotaro and his friends in Morioh in 1999. He had however been implied in the murders perpetrated by Yoshikage Kira, being the one to defeat the serial killer's Requiem Stand, the evolution of his Stand Killer Queen named Another One Bites The Dust. Since this affair, Hayato had been able to see Stands and Jotaro had agreed to pierce him with the Arrow.

Stands were entities invisible to those who didn't have one gifted with sometimes powerful or downright strange abilities whose origin was still a mystery. Apparently, a minority of people were Stand Users at birth. Their Stands could reveal themselves under several circumstances. It could appear naturally like it did for Jotaro and his family but that was rare. The exposure to other Stand Users could trigger or accelerate the appearance of a Stand in some people. Lastly, the Arrows, made from a meteor that crashed in Greenland, could instantly awaken or even create a Stand in people with enough spiritual strength in the person was cut by it. The downside of the Arrow was that if the person wasn't strong enough spiritually the Arrow would kill her. However, the Arrow preferably targeted people who would be Stand Users.

Since Hayato could see Stands, he was a Stand User to be. Jotaro had thus had no objections to submitting him to the Arrow. And thus The Doors came into the world.

This blue-skinned red-haired Stand wore a silver tuxedo with golden spherical door handles instead of buttons. It had keyholes instead of ears, its eyes were as black as dark holes and seemed to absorb light and both of his medium fingers were shaped like keys. It was reasonably strong and fast and was a close ranged Stand. Its power however was one of the strangest ever seen.

The Doors was able to open holes in space which were shaped like doors with the use of its medium fingers. It could open up to two doors at the same time, one with each key, and thus enabled Hayato to travel through space and even take people with him. The doors could open wherever he wanted, no matter the distance. The Doors could thus create space anomalies like making people see all sides of the same item at the same time. However, the doors opened with two keys were the strangest by far.

Since the Stand used both keys, only one could be opened at one time and none of the normal doors could be opened at the same time. However, these special doors led to other realities. Not much was known about those realities. Hayato, Rohan Kishibe, Koichi Hirose and his wife Yukako Yamagishi-Hirose had travelled into some of them but very few things were actually known about them. The Speedwagon Foundation had theorised that there was an infinity of them. They hadn't had the time to check this theory but there were obviously too much of them to count, even if only a minority of them was suitable for human life.

What Giorno's Stand was planing to do was to steal bodies in another reality to put the souls of Stand Users Giorno had had contact with.

"While I like the idea of surviving this Armageddon," stated Jotaro carefully, "I don't like the idea of stealing someone's body very much. But I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"I can't put a soul in a body where there's already one," replied Gold Experience Requiem. "Giorno knows this, he tested fail-safes against the death of his friends and was recently trying to devise a way to preserve soulless bodies. I will send all of you into a bodies in good state that have just been vacated by their souls."

"That makes me feel better," said Jotaro with a calm look. "Although... A body in good state that has just been vacated by its soul can't be easy to find. How rare is that?"

"Given the fact that the body must remain functioning I would say one human in two thousand realities, counting only the realities that actually harbour human life."

Jotaro gritted his teeth. Hayato was receiving this message and could find them all but it could take him years. They might all be dead before he found even one of them.

"It might effectively take a long time for you to find your friends and your daughter again if you have to rely on Hayato Kawajiri alone," added the Requiem Stand uselessly. It then paused, looking at Jotaro's frown, before adding: "However, nothing prevents you from finding ways to cross dimensions by yourself."

That actually shocked Jotaro. He hadn't thought that anything but The Doors could cross realities. But then again, he hadn't thought that Giorno's Stand could either.

"Should you manage that, I advise that you try to focus on finding my user first. He doesn't know that any of you survived and I cannot speak to him. Given that he will have the same body and given his exuberance you should find him more easily than the others. Since he can sense life, he could help you find the others if you find him," counselled Gold Experience Requiem.

The Stand then grabbed Jotaro's hand, at least his soul's, and Jotaro felt a strange sense of displacement. It then went back leisurely towards Giorno. Jotaro watched it before asking the question that was on his mind.

"Will I keep my Stand?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Gold Experience Requiem. "The Stand is linked with the soul and I cannot sever the link. Only Pucci could. Farewell, Jotaro Kujo."

With that, time resumed and Jotaro saw Giorno, or at least what remained of him, being dragged through what Jotaro thought to be a wormhole. Then the tsunami swallowed his body and the water vaporized as the sun swallowed the earth. Then the galaxies all collided with one another and the stars swallowed each other before being crushed by the intense gravity. Jotaro noticed his daughter's soul among the wreckage.

"JOLYNE!" he shouted helplessly.

The soul heard his and eyed him with wide eyes. It then smiled.

"You didn't tell me that uncle Giorno was a Stand User," it said before adding softly: "Dad, thank you. Thank you for everything. I'm sorry I didn't notice earlier how much you did for me." It then did a salute with two fingers that would have reminded Iggy the dog of Polnareff's farewell. "See you later, Dad."

"JOLYNE!" shouted Jotaro helplessly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you."

"You did what you thought was best," replied the soul. "I can't begrudge you that."

It then looked at what was happening with wide eyes. Jotaro did the same.

In the midst of this inferno of elemental particles, Jotaro's soul witnessed the big crunch the universe was currently undergoing. Then it felt swallowed and dissolved as if it were going through a black hole before reorganizing itself. The last thing he saw from his world was his daughter's soul being dragged in a singularity like his. The next thing Jotaro saw was the earth coming at high speed. He soon came close to its surface and witnessed a very strange sight before taking possession of his new body.

The red-haired pigtailed busty girl in Chinese clothes fled across the street and the sign-wielding biped panda followed her.

**Stand Stats:**

A: Very Good / B: Good / C: Average / D: Bad / E: Poor

Star Platinum

Strength: A / Speed: A / Range: C / Staying: C (Previously A) / Precision: A / Learning: C (Previously Complete)

Ability: Can move with amazing precision and destroy things with tremendous power. Range is only about two metres but it can move at unbelievable speeds, additionally it has the ability to stop time for five seconds. It seems odd to say that time stops for _five seconds_ when it is at a standstill but this is roughly how the user perceives it.

Made In Heaven (A.K.A Stairway To Heaven)

Strength: B / Speed: Infinite / Range: C / Staying: A / Precision: C / Learning: B

Ability: Physics have proven that there is a special relation between 'Gravity' and 'Time'. For example, the stronger the gravitational power, the slower time moves. It is difficult to explain but basically Made In Heaven uses the gravitational power of the whole universe to speed up time. No living organism is able to keep up, so they don't speed up with the rest of the universe. The only one who can is Pucci and maybe God himself.

Gold Experience Requiem

Strength: None / Speed: None / Range: None / Staying: None / Precision: None / Learning: None

Ability: After Gold Experience was pierced by the Arrow, it can nullify an opponent's action, making the action repeat itself. Time is then looping, preventing completion, Even in death. The user is not directly aware of this ability.

AN: It makes Giorno essentially unkillable. Since Gold Experience Requiem has also power over all living beings, I gave it power over souls. It just stems from the fact that I wanted it to be the ultimate Stand instead of Made In Heaven.

Stone Free

Strength: A to E / Speed: B / Range: C to A / Staying: A to D / Precision: C / Learning: A

Ability: Forms a body by gathering strings together. Short range when normal but when it unravels, its range becomes exceptional as its power and staying decrease. Can hear sounds from far away like a telephone line. Can unravel the body of its user, sew it to close wounds and even make Moebius strips out of it so as to nullify gravitational effects.

The Doors

Strength: B / Speed: B / Range: C / Staying: A / Precision: C / Learning: A

Ability: Can open doors through space with its middle fingers. Can thus open up to two doors in one universe and create spacial anomalies. With its two fingers, can open up to one door to another universe. Can also awaken Doorspaces on Stand Users.

AN: I actually had the idea for this Stand before I learnt of DDDDC, Funny Valentine's Stand. They have similar abilities.


	2. Dead Boy's Poem

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

I) Dead Boy's Poem

Nerima Ward, Tokyo, Japan, 1987

Jotaro didn't know what to think of the scene he was witnessing as his soul flew through the atmosphere, his Stand allowing him an extreme range of vision. The red-haired girl and the panda had been brawling in the street under the rain. Well, brawling was an insult towards their display of martial arts. The precision of both the attacks and the counters as well as the strength and speed put behind said attacks was staggering. Jotaro was willing to bet a considerable extent of his vast fortune that the two fighters were at the very least master of their arts. Their movements seemed unnaturally graceful, as if they were floating in the air, not subjected to the pull of gravity, the girl more so than the panda.

The panda fighting like a martial arts master was the only fact that bothered Jotaro but it didn't really faze him. He had seen way stranger throughout his life, especially when it came to battling Stand Users. For all Jotaro knew, the panda could be an extremely well trained one. It could also be a human soul imprisoned in the body of a panda. Or in this world pandas could be sentient beings on par with humans. Jotaro didn't know this world after all.

"What's the big idea? Picking up my fiancée like that?" yelled the girl to the panda.

Jotaro lifted an eyebrow. The girl was implying that the panda chose her intended for her. This supported his theory that the panda was sentient. Jotaro's soul continued to approach the scene. The girl managed at that moment to clip the panda with her foot and to smash him into the ground. She stood in front of the panda and flicked her pigtail, eyeing the beast with barely concealed contempt.

"I've had enough. I'm going back to China. Good bye, old man," she said venomously.

She then turned away and went to grab a backpack Jotaro had noticed earlier. However, before she could put it on her back, the panda jumped from the ground and smashed its sign on the girl's head. She fell boneless on the ground. At that moment, a soul came up from the body. This meant that the girl was dead and had been killed by the panda. There was one thing that bothered Jotaro. The soul exiting the body was obviously male and black-haired. Jotaro knew that the soul didn't lie, so the real form of the girl was a boy.

_'Maybe something along the line of Silver Chariot Requiem exchanged his soul with another one,'_ thought Jotaro. _'Or maybe it is something else altogether.'_

The soul coming from the girls body started to rise. It looked like the epitome of surprise and more than a little afraid. It looked at the body on the ground. And became frankly scared.

"What happened?" it asked frantically as it started to be drawn away from its body.

"You died, that's what," told Jotaro. "Some higher being decided that your time had come and that I should invest your physical body. It might seem like I'm stealing your body and I'm pretty sure that there is some truth in stating that. However, I don't have any more say in this than you do."

The boy thought on this and acceptance slowly came on his face, although wonder was still present.

"I guess this is it then," acknowledged the boy. "Can I ask you to live an honourable life?"

"I don't make promises I can't keep," replied Jotaro. "I lived by an honour code that was specific to me and in all likelihood my principles are vastly different from yours."

"Oh, well, I tried," sighed the other soul. "Can I ask you to clock the old man one for me?"

"The panda?" asked Jotaro. When the other agreed he added: "Sure, I guess. He did kill you after all."

At that moment the two souls touched one another and facts crammed themselves into Jotaro's memory.

He saw the suicide contract Genma Saotome made him sign for his mother.

He saw Genma berating him when he cried for his mother and calling him a 'weak little girl'.

He saw Genma beating him, starving him, even outright torturing him, all in the name of training when it was obvious that it was just out of greediness and stupidity.

He saw the cats mauling him in the pit and saw the terror that was consuming him.

He saw the results of his lack of education preventing him from making any meaningful friends and how alone he felt.

He saw his own despair when he emerged from the pool of Jusenkyo with a girl's body.

He finally saw his own rage when he learnt that all his father had done to him was in order to marry him to some girl he didn't even know so as to live of his work.

All the life and memory of Ranma Saotome imprinted itself in Jotaro's brain. However, it didn't overwrite Jotaro's personality. If anything, it strengthened his will to live by his own principles, especially when he saw what Ranma's own had done to him. He brutally erased Ranma's personality from his brain as soon as the memory transfer stopped and overcame Ranma's fears and prejudices.

He turned towards Ranma's soul one last time and his gaze hardened.

"I have seen all of your memories. Let me assure you, Genma Saotome will pay," he snarled. Ranma didn't know what to answer to this. Jotaro eyed him with a determined look as he ascended before adding: "Go then. There are other worlds than these."

After that he blacked out. The panda didn't notice the star-shaped birthmark that appeared at the base of the girl's neck.

* * *

In a quaint house in Nerima, a man with a moustache and long black hair wearing a brown gi was crying while reading a postcard. The postcard simply said: "Coming back from China. Bringing Ranma with me." It was signed in the same atrocious writing as the rest by Genma Saotome.

"At long last," cried Soun Tendo before drying his tear tracks and running throughout the house.

"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" he shouted.

Three girls came at different times. The first to arrive was the eldest. She had long chestnut hair tied up in a ponytail and was wearing an apron over her simple dress. She obviously came from the kitchen given the way she was cleaning her hands on her apron. She had a gentle look on her face. The second was the middle sister, who had her brown hair in a helmet cut and was currently eating snacks. She wore a tank top and shorts and came from her bedroom. Her gaze was calculating. The last one to come was the youngest. She had her long dark-blue hair tied with a ribbon and wore a white martial arts gi. It was obvious that she had been practising martial arts given the sheen of sweat that was coming from her and looked fairly annoyed to be interrupted.

The three sisters sat in front of their father and waited for him to tell then why he had called them. Soun Tendo stopped reminiscing and focused on his daughters.

"Today, a good friend of mine, Genma Saotome, and his son, Ranma, are coming," he said without preamble. "It was our intention to unite our schools through marriage. One of you will be the fiancée of Ranma Saotome."

Needless to say, the news was received with thinly veiled scepticism at best and open hostility at worst.

"Fiancée!" fumed Akane, the youngest. "Why should we be the fiancée of a... a... BOY! A boy we don't even know!"

"Is he young?" asked Kasumi, the eldest. "Younger men bore me."

"An arranged marriage? In this day and age? Really, Daddy," stated Nabiki, the middle one.

"Silence!" bellowed Soun. "One of you will be marrying him and that's final!"

This effectively quelled the sisters' protestations, although Kasumi still looked sceptical and Akane still looked mad. Nabiki was the only one even remotely interested.

"So when do they arrive?" asked Kasumi. She had the guest room to prepare.

"Sometimes today," answered her father. "They are coming back from China."

"Ooooooh, China," said Nabiki, immediately interested. If they came from China, then they must have money, or so she thought.

"Yes, they come from China, big deal," huffed Akane, still peeved about the marriage thing.

"So father, how old is Ranma?" asked Kasumi, still curious despite her reserves about the whole arrangement.

"Is he cute?" added Nabiki, definitely interested.

Soun seemed to think on it a minute before answering.

"I don't know," he answered. The three sisters blinked.

"You... don't know?" asked Nabiki cautiously, as if her ears were deceiving her.

"I've never met him," he stated truthfully.

This made the sisters quite wary. Someone their father didn't even know and one of them had to marry him? This didn't sound good.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Nabiki and Soun immediately got up and ran towards the door.

"This must be Ranma," squealed Nabiki. Despite her father's obvious lack of common sense, she couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of meeting this so-called fiancé.

Kasumi and Akane got up at a much more sedate pace. But before they could exit the living-room, their father and Nabiki rushed back, soon followed by a panda carrying someone on his shoulder. All the Tendos backed up in fear.

"Father, do you know them?" asked Kasumi fearfully. Soun shook his head in negation.

"Oh, right. A giant panda comes to Nerima and it goes to our house specifically," said Nabiki sarcastically. "Happens all the time."

The panda glared at the girl before putting the person on his shoulder on the ground. Said person seemed disorientated for a minute before her eyes focused. Immediately, her face was marred with a half-scowl and a piercing blue gaze wandered over the Tendos before it fell on the panda behind her. And then three words were uttered.

"Yare yare daze."

* * *

Jotaro had woken up when the panda had ringed the doorbell. Her first instinct was to scream her daughter's name but she knew it would be counter-productive. Rather than squirming in the panda's grasp, she decided to play possum and wait until it put her down by itself. If there was one thing she knew about it, it was that it could have its picture in the dictionary under the definition of sloth.

Jotaro heard the panda frighten the family living here, the Tendos if she remembered correctly.

_'Wait a minute,'_ thought Jotaro. _'Am I referring to myself as a woman?'_

Since waking up, Jotaro had effectively been considering herself a woman. Probably a side effect of the Jusenkyo curse. He welcomed it gladly. It would help him adapt to being in a girl's body half of the time. Now that he thought about it, Ranma used to adapt to it just fine, it was just the idea of being in girl's body that bothered him, given that he thought that women were weaker than men. Which was stupid to Jotaro, since he knew some very dangerous women and knew that they could be as strong if not stronger than men. Just look at Yukako Yamagishi-Hirose and Trish Una. Yukako had gone through hell willingly to help her husband Koichi and Trish didn't hesitate to put Giorno Giovana down when she was fed up with him, even though he was the most dangerous entity of their world. No, Jotaro had no qualms about being a woman, even though it was only half of the time. After all he had lived through stranger and it was an opportunity to achieve what men could only dream about: experiencing the opposite sex.

At that moment the panda put her on the ground, disorientating her slightly. Then she got her equilibrium back and gazed at the Tendos in her peculiar gaze, the one that gave the impression that she could see through everything. It made the Tendos wary. Only Nabiki had ever had a gaze like that and it was nowhere as penetrating as Jotaro's was. Then Jotaro eyed the panda. She felt a urge to kill it on the spot but managed to overcome it and let nothing of her inner fight appear on her face.

"Yare yare daze," she said simply. She wanted the panda in its birth form to implement her plan. It would do a lasting impression on all those present.

Soun stared at the redhead and pointed at her with his finger.

"Are you..? By chance, would you be Ranma Saotome?" he said while his finger was shaking.

Jotaro looked at him as if he were an ant and answered in a way that surprised everybody.

"I most certainly am not," she said in a dead voice. "Whatever gave you such a stupid idea?"

Soun crumbled visibly. At that moment the panda put out a sign that said: **'BOY! What are you up to?'** All the Tendos became confused at that.

"But... But Genma said his son would be there today," he whined.

"You're already old enough to need glasses, old man," said Jotaro in a bored tone, then she put forth her non-negligible bust and added: "Do these scream 'Boy' to you?"

Soun was visibly stumped. He hadn't noticed it at first but the redhead was obviously a girl. What he didn't understand was why the panda, which was writing frantically on his sign for the redhead to stop what she was doing, was obstinately calling her 'Boy'. For that matter, how on earth could this panda write?

"Forgive me young lady," apologized Soun. "I was so impatient to meet Ranma that I didn't even notice that you were a girl. For that matter, who are you and why did this panda bring you here?"

"My name is Kujo, Jotaro Kujo," she said with a neutral voice. "As for why this panda brought me here, could you bring me one cup of hot water? It would help me to explain it to you."

"Certainly," answered the girl with long chestnut hair, probably the eldest, before she went to the kitchen. The panda had strangely stopped writing imprecations on his sign and looked at Jotaro expectantly.

_'That's right, bastard, just be your usual retarded self so you get what you deserve,'_ thought Jotaro vindictively although nothing of it appeared on his face as usual.

"In China," started to lecture Jotaro, "there is a valley near the Bayankala mountains which is composed of one hundred and eight pools with bamboo poles emerging from them. There is a legend that says that these pools are cursed."

At that moment, Kasumi came back with a glass of hot water. Jotaro took it with a nod.

"It is said that whenever someone falls into a pool, that someone is cursed to turn into the last thing that drowned into said pool. The curse is said to be reversible with the application of hot liquid but a cold one will reactivate the curse," resumed Jotaro.

She then send half of the glass's content on the panda which morphed into a fat bald man with glasses and a white bandanna wearing a dirty whit gi.

"Genma Saotome fell into the spring of the drowned panda," she added.

She finally emptied the glass on herself and turned into a black-haired boy with a pigtail wearing a red Chinese suit and kung-fu pants.

"This body fell into the spring of the drowned girl," he finished.

The Tendos looked shell-shocked at the scene. Nabiki was the first to let go of her stupor.

"Are you this girl from earlier?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Jotaro.

"YOU PERVERT!" suddenly shrieked Akane.

Jotaro gave her a piercing gaze that conveyed much disgust.

"How am I a pervert?" he asked coldly. This girl had the gal to question him when she didn't even know of his situation.

"You turn into a girl!" she shouted. "That makes you a pervert. Who knows what you've done with your body."

"If I follow your reasoning," said Jotaro calmly and accusingly, "then you're a way bigger pervert than I am given that you're a girl all the time. Who knows what **you** have done to your body."

That effectively shut Akane up, especially since her sisters started eyeing her speculatively. Just then Soun seemed to wake up and eyed Jotaro suspiciously.

"Wait..." he said. "If Genma brought you here, then you must be Ranma! Why did you lie to us?"

"Yes, what's with this Jotaro Kujo nonsense, boy," asked Genma imperiously. "I taught you better than that."

"I didn't lie," answered Jotaro in a dead voice. "I really am Jotaro Kujo. There is no way I could be Ranma Saotome since Ranma Saotome died nineteen minutes ago."

That actually shut up everyone. Soun and his daughters looked at him with wide eyes while Genma looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"What kind of nonsense are you saying, boy?" he asked frantically. The situation was escaping his control at a fast pace, if he ever had control of it to begin with.

"You should know it," said Jotaro in the same dead voice. "After all, you were the one who killed him."

Everyone froze at that, including Genma who looked wide-eyed at what he thought to be his son. At that moment, Jotaro struck. He buried his hand into Genma's belly just under the ribs up to his wrist and grabbed his liver. At the same time, he summoned Star Platinum and made its hand faze into Genma's torso and grab his heart. Genma looked thunderstruck before the pain started to process and he started to scream like a beast that was about to die. He then felt the pressure around his heart and started to pant while still howling. He grabbed Jotaro's hand and tried to remove it but he had no leverage and his strength had left him due to the seizure to his heart, besides Jotaro wasn't letting go. The Tendos watched in horrified fascination what happened. They didn't dare to make a move to help Genma since Jotaro could obviously kill him on the spot, not to mention what he could do to them. None of them had seen Jotaro move until he was wrist deep into Genma's belly.

"Debt Collector Marylin Manson," uttered Jotaro, before he turned his head towards the Tendos. "Should any of you move, I'll remove his liver and defend myself if need be, which would let him die." He turned his head back towards Genma, who had by now some blood seeping from his mouth and was grunting loudly due to the pain he felt. "If you make another attempt to escape, I'll crush your heart."

Genma looked into Jotaro's eyes and tried to retort something, like an order to cease this foolishness and apologize for doing this to his father, but when he saw his eyes he immediately shut up. He had seen this look once, when he was rather young. It had been on the face of a hired killer. The man could have killed him but had let him live since he wasn't paid to kill him. Genma had been scared witless by the look in his eyes, he sometimes had nightmares about it. And today he was seeing this look again, on his son's face this time.

"When you hit Ranma Saotome on the back of her head twenty one minutes ago, she died," started to explain Jotaro in his usual emotionless tone. "Her soul left her body. Due to circumstances outside of my control, I have been, shall I say, assigned to said body. However, before it occurred, I accidentally touched said soul. I have thus acquired all the memories of Ranma Saotome, including those he didn't remember."

Jotaro then paused and looked at Genma scornfully, yet not departing from the look that terrified the bald man.

"I remember everything, everything you did to him in the name of training, how you starved him, how you deceived him by making him steal, how you tortured him under the pretence of toughening him. I remember now..." said Jotaro frostily. He then left his right leg, as well as Star Platinum's, and used both to shatter Genma's knees. The kicks were so fast that none of the Tendos noticed the strange way Genma's left knee seemed shattered by itself. The after images made it look like Jotaro only used one kick to shatter both knees.

The pain was too much for Genma. His eyes rolled in their orbits and he fainted on the spot. He started to fall, his legs unable to support his weight. Jotaro released his grasp on Genma's liver and made Star Platinum release its own on Genma's heart. The pot-bellied man fell in a heap, spraying some blood on the floor in the meantime.

Jotaro had a look of disgust on his face and then said: "This is for all the times you starved him." He then turned towards the Tendos, who still looked at him horrified.

"If you really want him to get better, you should take him to a doctor, or even to the hospital," he said without emotion. "I couldn't care less about what you do about him, he should still survive without help but he'll be in a world of hurt."

The Tendos looked at him as if he had a second head.

"How... How could you do this to him?" stuttered Kasumi. "He is your father!"

"No, he isn't," replied Jotaro. "Haven't you heard what I said? I'm just a passenger in another's body. And even if he were, I would have gotten revenge for what he has done. I probably would have done that sooner, that's all."

Kasumi looked physically struck at the idea that Jotaro would have hurt his own father. What kind of man would do something that horrible?

Jotaro looked at them one last time before he turned towards the door.

"I'll be going, then," he just said. That seemed to wake up Soun.

"Wait, son!" he shouted. "What about the pledge to join the schools?"

Jotaro stopped and eyed him in a way that made his hairs dress all over his body.

"Why should I care?" he asked sharply.

"But... Genma and I made this pledge eighteen years ago! You have to marry one of my daughters! It's a matter of honour!" he howled at Jotaro.

"Ranma Saotome had to marry one of your daughters, not I," answered Jotaro. "I don't see why I should honour a pledge that doesn't concern me."

Soun started to see red at the thought of seeing his dream going up into smoke. He focused his ki and made his head swell and take a demonic appearance. It was his Demon Head and he hadn't used it for a rather long time. His daughters could still remember it and recoiled in fear.

"You will marry one of my daughters and that is final!" he bellowed.

Jotaro looked at him unimpressed. He had seen stranger and he knew that this Demon Head was just an illusionary trick relying on ki, it had no physical effect, contrary to a Stand.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" he asked drolly. "Just so you know, even if he were my real father, I wouldn't have gotten along with this farce. He has no right to impose my wife to me. Especially given the torture he has wrought down on this body. Besides, you're a sad excuse of a father if you want to force your daughter to marry a perfect stranger. For all you know, I'm a serial killer just waiting for you to lower your guard just to slaughter you all. It's pathetic and disgusting, really."

Soun got really angered at the dismissal of his parental skill. He rushed at Jotaro in order to clobber him. Jotaro saw him come and waited for him with his hands in his pockets, Stand already summoned. As Soun was close enough, Star Platinum struck with one of its fists. It impacted Soun on the face, making the rest of his body go horizontal before all of it flew away from Jotaro, spraying blood from his nose. He crashed into the wall, already unconscious, remaining stuck into it given the strength behind Star Platinum's punch. The three daughters looked wide-eyed at what had just happened before Akane reacted hotly.

"DADDY! You bastard," she shrieked at Jotaro before rushing to him with a fist raised, intent on bringing bodily harm to him. Jotaro sidestepped and punched her himself in the torso. She exhaled all the air in her lung and fell on the ground, whimpering.

"Anyone else?" asked Jotaro, his fist still in front of him. The two remaining Tendo sisters looked at him fearfully and didn't move. "I'll be going then." He turned towards the door.

"Wait..." said Kasumi trembling. "I don't really approve of the way it was presented to us, they could have spoken to us about it before. But... You're not even willing to give this pledge a chance. Have you no honour?" She was looking distressed at the notion.

"Genma engaged his honour, not me, nor Ranma," he replied. "But you want to know what I think about honour? Fuck honour! It was invented by weak people to trap strong people into promises they wouldn't have made otherwise. Honour is never worth anybody's well-being, ever."

Kasumi looked struck at Jotaro's answer. She couldn't find any logical argument to counter that.

"You don't seem to be the type to make any friends," snipped Nabiki before she could stop herself. Jotaro looked at her and she thought she had made a fatal error and that he would hit her but Jotaro remained still.

"I can make friends just fine," he finally answered. "I just choose them carefully. Simply put, none of you have positively impressed me so far."

Nabiki was struck this time. Jotaro was dangerous, powerful, obviously very intelligent and in full control of himself. In one word, the perfect ally. And he considered her not worth his friendship. She had obviously made a mistake. She was so mad at herself that she decided to con him in retaliation.

"Well that's all well and good, but you owe us. You destroyed a wall of our house, harmed our father and our sister and your father's medical bills won't pay themselves like that," she said snidely. "You owe us about three hundred thousand yen."

Jotaro remained impassible for ten seconds which actually put Nabiki on edge.

"I have a counter offer for you," he finally said. "How about you leave me be without trying to extort money from me and I don't leave you for dead, as well as your sister?"

This proposal made Kasumi's and Nabiki's blood freeze. Jotaro seemed extremely serious in his proposal. Kasumi decided to try to appeal to his good nature.

"But... you can't," she stammered. "You can't hurt people indiscriminately. And you owe our family for the harm you've done to us."

"Why should I owe you for something you did to yourselves?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

He then paused and reached his left wrist with his right hand and seemed to pull a Desert Eagle from it. He pointed it towards Kasumi under Nabiki's terrified gaze while she herself felt her life expectancy shorten drastically.

"As to not daring hurting you," he added neutrally, "I was wondering about killing you to be done with it. It would allow me to avoid many problems."

"You wouldn't dare," said Nabiki frantically. "You'd be arrested, sent to prison, maybe even executed!"

Jotaro turned his gun towards her and eyed her impassively.

"You should know that some people are powerful enough to get away with anything. Theft, rape, murder and even genocide," stated Jotaro. "I haven't tried genocide nor rape, but I know I can get away with murder. It wouldn't bother me much if I had to do it again."

"Then why didn't you kill your father if he was as terrible as you say?" retorted Nabiki fearfully. "You don't have the balls to kill him! You're all talk!"

Jotaro shot one round. It flew towards Nabiki and grazed her cheek, leaving a small trail of blood, before it pierced the wall behind her and then buried itself in the outer wall. The sound of the explosion was deafening, especially to Nabiki, whom the bullet nearly shot. Nabiki recoiled and fell on her knees, raising her hand to her head and shrieking in shock and pain. Kasumi fainted on the spot. Jotaro looked at Nabiki emotionless while she screamed. When she stopped, Jotaro put the gun out... somewhere.

"I am not all talk, as you just saw," admonished Jotaro. "As to why I didn't kill Genma," his gaze hardened, "I want him to suffer. I know him. He'll come back for me, he is stupid like that. And when he finally comes, I'm going to torture him some more. I'll make his life a living hell, he'll regret I didn't kill him today."

Nabiki whimpered when she heard him. This guy had no compulsion against killing. She had dealt before with thugs when she did her business deals in school but she had always managed to blackmail them into submission. They talked big but were far from being the hard-boiled guys they like to pretend they were. Jotaro was the real deal. Intelligent, powerful, merciless, unforgiving and remorseless. Nabiki started to shiver and didn't dare to cross his gaze, lest she fainted herself.

"I'll be going now," said Jotaro. "Those who cross me will regret it. Tell your father and your sisters that. Don't bother with Genma. I want him to come."

And with that, he went out.

AN: Debt Collector Marilyn Manson is a Stand in the Stone Ocean arc but not one with incidence. The only noteworthy fact about it is that it can steel organs as payment for lost bets. Since Jotaro was in stasis during the time it attacked, he shouldn't know about it. But let's imagine that Jolyne left logs of the opponents she fought in prison to the Speedwagon Foundation and that Jotaro read them fast before rushing to help her. It could explain it. Besides, given the effect of Jotaro's attack, I wanted him to say that.


	3. Romanticide

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

II) Romanticide

Doorspace.

This was The Doors' last and, to Jotaro, most useful ability. Hayato's Stand could create Doorspaces on other Stand Users. A Doorspace was linked to its Stand User. The User was then the only one that could use it. He just had to merge his Stand with his hand and could then put items into the Doorspace, which was located somewhere on his Stand. The Doorspace acted like a pocket linked to another dimension which could hold a limitless amount of items and suppressed size and weight. The User could put virtually anything in it, provided he, or his Stand, could lift it.

Jotaro put another exemplary of his trademark cap and trenchcoat and put them on. The trenchcoat was now a bit too long. Jotaro had been almost two metres tall in his former body. Ranma's body was only one hundred and seventy centimetres tall. His girl body was even worse, barely reaching one hundred and forty eight centimetres. He would have to alter it if he wanted to wear it without dirtying it.

Jotaro walked through Nerima. He had located a high school called Furinkan. If he had to wait some time for Hayato to come, he might as well do it here. Plus, he still wanted to torture Genma. It would be easier if he remained close to where he had left him. Since he had the body of a high-school boy, sometimes girl, he might as well play the part. He thus planned to enrol himself in Furinkan. Given his previous scholastic background, he would soon be eligible in college. He had produced a thesis about starfishes after all. He would spent one year in the highest grade at Furinkan, then take the exams to a college in Tokyo and wait for Hayato while he studied there. Maybe he would even produce another thesis in maths in the meantime. He had worked a bit with Hayato after all. The guy was a mathematical monster with a computer in lieu of his brain.

The only problem he had right now was that he had to have a permanent address to enrol in school. He thus had to find somewhere to live first. Which wouldn't be all that difficult. He had a substantial amount of money in his Doorspace, he even had some jewels and gold and platinum ingots there, so money wasn't really a problem. He might have to find a so called guardian to rent a place since his body was that of a minor, which could pose a problem. He couldn't rely on the Tendos, nor on Genma, and Ranma didn't know any adult in Nerima who could help him.

Jotaro broke out of his musing when he was splashed by water. He felt his body shift into her body. Her trenchcoat touched the ground now. She turned towards the source of water. On old woman was watering the entrance of her house. She was rather small and thin, had long grey hair and sharp brown eyes, was wearing glasses and wore a dark blue simple dress. The woman eyed her strangely.

"Excuse me young lady, I didn't see you there," she apologized. "I don't want to seem to be prying, but... Weren't you taller before I splashed you?"

"No need to apologize, I know I attract water so it's not your fault," replied Jotaro. "As to your remark, I was taller before. I was male too."

The woman looked at him sharply.

"Magic?" she asked simply.

"Yes," Jotaro answered, glad he found someone who wasn't as close-minded as the Tendos. "Have you heard of a valley in China called Jusenkyo? It doesn't seem like your first encounter with magic."

"I haven't heard of Jusenkyo but two years ago I broke my hip in a park in Juuban and a young girl healed it on the spot," she replied. "There wasn't any mark. My hip was as good as new. Since then I have known that magic exists."

"You're broad-minded," stated Jotaro. "That's something sufficiently rare among Japanese people to note."

"I was a scientist before," she shot back. "I had to be broad-minded, it was a requirement. I thus call magic whatever science doesn't explain yet. But where are my manners? My name is Mikoto Yukihara."

"Mine is Jotaro Kujo," responded Jotaro. "So Yukihara-san, what..." he then stopped as he felt presences behind him and turned back.

Three thugs came. They all had school uniforms, albeit these had seen better days. Jotaro wasn't opposed to altering one's uniform but these thugs' were just torn due to neglect, it wasn't even fashionable. One of them had a tattoo on his cheek, another had nose and lip rings and the last one had a pompadour haircut. Eyeing the last one, Jotaro thought that Josuke wore it with way more style. All in all, these thugs didn't look very dangerous despite trying to appear threatening. They were rather tall, that was all. Jotaro shifted her body weight and summoned Star Platinum.

"Well," slurred the one with the tattoo. "If it ain't the old hag. So you have money for us?"

"No, I don't!" snarled Mikoto. "Why don't you make yourselves useful for society rather than bother honest people who haven't asked for anything."

The thug growled and grabbed her by her collar.

"You better respect us," he spit. "No one's gonna help you."

"I wouldn't say that," interrupted Jotaro. All three thugs turned towards her.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed the one with the piercings. "It's a girl! And she's hot!"

"She's stacked," added the one with the pompadour haircut. "I wouldn't mind having a go at her."

The thug with the tattoo released Mikoto.

"Well, it's your lucky day, old hag," he sneered. "We won't be taking your money today. Be ready for tomorrow, though. Well girlie, let's have some fun."

"It'll be the last fun you ever have," said Jotaro neutrally.

"Stop bullshitting us, girlie," sneered the one with the piercings. "Time to put out."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," warned Jotaro. And then she struck.

She grabbed the thug with piercings by his ear and brought his head down while she lifted her knee. His head crashed on said knee, breaking his nose and he reeled back, his nose spraying blood. Before he could back away, Jotaro grabbed his lip and nose rings and struck with Star Platinum's fist in his belly. The thug's body flew back and his rings got torn out of his face, spraying some more blood. He crashed two metres away and laid there whimpering, trying to catch his breath and clutching his face. Jotaro then whirled and struck the throat of the thug with the pompadour with a nukite ('spear hand'). While he choked, she grabbed said hairdo and ripped it off of his head. The thug screamed, clutching his bleeding scalp. Jotaro then jumped in the air in front of him and struck him with a roundhouse kick. He flew back until he hit the wall on the other side of the street and crashed unconscious on the ground. She then turned towards the thug with a tattoo. He was watching her with shock and fear. Mikoto was watching her with wonder and gratitude.

"I did warn you," stated Jotaro to the last thug. She started to stalk towards him in a threatening manner, seeming to glide on the ground. The thug started to back away in fright. Jotaro prevented him from fleeing from him by backing him into a wall. Seeing that he had no escape route, he searched in his pocket and pulled up a butterfly knife. Jotaro eyed the knife unimpressed, although its blade was nearly twenty centimetres long.

"Are you overcompensating for something?" asked Jotaro with fake interest. The thug looked at him without understanding.

"What?" he replied stupidly.

"I just implied that you have a small penis," explained Jotaro. "Which wouldn't surprise me, given that you went with two other guys just to threaten an old lady. You are rather cowardly."

The thug understood that and snarled incoherently due to his rage. He lunged at Jotaro screaming in anger and pointing the knife at her heart. Jotaro caught his hand with hers when the blade was just two centimetres away from her breast. She held it so firm that the thug couldn't break away, even with the help of his other arm. She made Star Platinum grab his neck and choke him slightly. The thug struggled a moment before he abandoned and started to whimper, begging for mercy.

"Pathetic," stated Jotaro. "You're all talk, only willing to bully those who are weaker than you." She then brought his face closer to hers. "Bother Yukihara-san once more, just once, and I will hurt you so much that you'll regret I didn't kill you then. I'll remain in the neighbourhood for now. You better pray that I never see your face any more." And with that she crushed his wrist with Star Platinum, making him scream and release his knife. She released him, taking the knife in her Doorspace in the meantime.

"Now, be gone!" she growled. "And take these pathetic wastes of human beings out of there."

Still whimpering, the thug with the tattoo helped the one with the piercings (who didn't have them any more) to get up to his feet and together they dragged the one with a bleeding scalp.

Jotaro watched them leave before turning towards Mikoto.

"I'm sorry you had to see that side of my personality, Yukihara-san, but it was necessary," explained Jotaro.

Mikoto watched him slack-jawed before remembering to close her mouth.

"I have one question for you, young lady," she finally said.

"What is it?" asked Jotaro, waiting for about any question.

"What is the apparition standing behind you?" asked Mikoto back.

Jotaro paused. She hadn't anticipated that question and she obviously hadn't anticipated the fact that Mikoto was a Stand User to be.

"I have an incredible story to tell you," she finally answered. "But first, would you happen to have a cup of hot water?"

* * *

Two hours later on Mikoto's sofa in her living-room, a now Male Jotaro was finishing his explanation as to how he became a Stand User, how he transferred bodies and also how he was able to change his appearance depending on the temperature of water. Mikoto was nursing a cup of sake while thinking about what Jotaro had said to her

"This story is way too much to believe," she finally said. "At least that's what I would say if I were a close-minded bigot. But I'm not, and you've shown me proof of what you advance. Some of your items are decades ahead of what is currently the best technology can produce, you've shown me your Doorspace, your curse and most importantly I can see your Stand. I don't have any choice but to believe your story. Besides, why would you lie? You don't need to. You're powerful enough to rely on the truth instead of lies."

"I'm glad you believe me Yukihara-san," said Jotaro respectfully.

"Call me Mikoto," Mikoto shot back. "Given that I'm the only other potential Stand User on this planet, I believe that we should speak on a first name basis."

"As you want, Mikoto," answered Jotaro. "I unfortunately don't have the means to awaken your Stand. Only close proximity with me could awaken it, but I don't know how much time it could take. Maybe years, given that I can't stalk you all the time."

"So what do you intend to do now?" asked Mikoto. "You don't have any legal existence in this universe and you don't know anyone, except me and the Tendos. And given how you behaved in front of them, I doubt they would help you."

"I haven't decided everything," replied Jotaro. "I think I know where I can forge an identity. I intend to remain in this area since there's a chance that Hayato will come here first when he reaches this universe, but it could take years, maybe even decades. So I intend to live normally. Well at least as normally as a sex-changing martial artist with people after his head can. I still don't know where I will live, however."

"Why don't you live here?" proposed Mikoto. "It would allow me to study both your Stand and your curse. Maybe it could accelerate the appearance of mine. Besides, I feel lonely since both my husband and my daughter died."

Jotaro remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know how I can thank you," he finally admitted. "You're helping me in more ways than one. But I want you to know that I insist on paying you a rent. I have enough money to rent a flat for a few decades, so don't worry about my finances. I won't allow you to refuse it."

"Well, if you insist I won't refuse, after all I'm not rich," admitted Mikoto, before she thought about something. "If water follows you, what will you do about your curse at school?"

Jotaro thought about it.

"I'll reveal it to the principal and we will decide together what to do about it," he finally said. "It's probably useless concealing it. I remembered Ranma trying to remain in his birth form. He didn't manage to do so for long. I remember water coming up from a stream to soak him."

"Maybe he failed to prevent his curse from activating because he tried to avoid it," suggested Mikoto. At Jotaro's questioning gaze, she elaborated: "Think about it, from what you told me, Ranma Saotome was so insistent about his manliness that he spent the least time possible in his female form. If this affliction is a curse, it would oblige him to spend the most time in this form, hence his troubles with water."

"So you're saying that I should spend some time in this female form to avoid the curse to act too randomly?" asked Jotaro. "I'm fine with it. I have a unique opportunity after all. Many males would give their left nut to have the same perspective on the female body as I have. I just draw the line at wearing woman clothes. If I have to change back to male, female clothes would indispose me since I am taller in my male form."

"Your current attire suits you rather well, so you don't need to change it very much," added Mikoto. "Given your condition, you should be exempted from a uniform. I think you should consult a doctor to determine how deep your curse run. Besides, you spent years in the wilderness, you should be checked for illnesses."

"Then let's go now, you can show me the way," replied Jotaro.

* * *

The visit to doctor Tofu was interesting to say the least. The man had tried to surprise Jotaro with his skeleton but Jotaro was way too aware of his environment to be surprised, which actually surprised the bespectacled man wearing a brown gi and a white bandanna. He was however way more flabbergasted by Jotaro's curse, even though he had heard of Jusenkyo and was well versed in esoteric arts. The exam itself didn't reveal anything about both form, even though they showed that Ranma had been underfed. There were also many traces of fractures that had healed. It was actually a good thing since it had toughened Ranma's (and thus Jotaro's) bones. He still advocated for a gynaecological exam, to which Jotaro agreed. Learning that he knew the Tendos and was their friend, Jotaro deduced that the Tendos had gone to the hospital to get healed rather than to his practise, otherwise he would had been far less amicable to Jotaro.

The odd couple then went to Furinkan high school. Jotaro already had some fake ID in his Doorspace on which he drew a picture so realistic of himself that it looked like a photograph, he would just have to hack into the government's databases to make his own existence legal. The registration itself went without a hitch thanks to Mikoto's help despite Jotaro's lack of records. Then came the time to show his curse. With the help of a two bottles of water, Jotaro explained its mechanics. The vice-principal was flummoxed to say the least.

"That... is unexpected," he finally said. "I have to admit that I have never seen anything like that. It could pose several problems."

"The first one is that I can't wear a boy's or girl's uniform," stated Jotaro. "I have a medical discharge from a doctor if you insist but I think you can see for yourself how bad it could be for me."

"I can see, all right," replied the vice-principal. "I'll write a permission for you. The other problem is how to announce that to the other students."

"I'd rather tell them myself to those I feel who need to know rather than you telling all the school about it," said Jotaro.

"I can understand that, but how would you hide your transformation?" asked the vice-principal.

"I'll soon have another identity ready for my female body, who will be my sister but with the same name, I'm sure you've seen stranger," answered Jotaro. "You just have to process the scores of both of my identities into one."

"Well that could work," admitted the vice-principle. "But what will you do in the showers after sport?"

"I'll improvise," replied Jotaro. He thought about it and suggested: "Maybe you could get me a key to the staff's room. It could work since I have a medical certificate that advises against a uniform. I can pretend that I have a physical disfigurement that is bad enough to justify my use of the staff room."

"You have good ideas, you have thought about it much," admitted the vice-principal. "Now we have to decide in which grade to put you."

"The last one, of course," Jotaro shot back. "I intend to pass college exams. I am proficient in several languages besides Japanese, including Chinese, English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Russian. I am well versed in maths, physics and biology at university level."

"Could you prove it?" challenged the vice-principal.

During the next half of an hour, Jotaro detailed the proof of Lebesgue Theorem, the laws of quantum mechanics, the cellular development of starfishes and managed to do so in all the languages he had admitted to knowing. Needless to say, the vice-principal was impressed.

"I honestly don't know why you're wasting your time in high school when you could enter Toudai without taking the exam," he admitted.

"I'm too young to fit in college so soon," explained Jotaro. "And I want to see if I missed something by never socializing with my peers before."

"I can understand that, mister Kujo," said the vice-principal knowingly, before giving him several slips of paper. "Well, you can come to school starting tomorrow. I expect great things from you."

With that, Jotaro and Mikoto left. When they were out of Furinkan, Mikoto turned towards him.

"You didn't tell me that you were that intelligent and cultured," she said accusingly.

"There are many things you don't know about me," replied Jotaro. "Maybe you'll learn more while time passes, but I have secrets I am not willing to disclose to anybody."

Mikoto mulled on this, then thought about the fact that Jotaro had seen the end of a universe.

"That I can understand," she said eventually.

"I have some shopping to do, do you want to come with me?" asked Jotaro. "I have to buy clothes and sewing materials, as well as some groceries. I know some unconventional dishes that I still want to try."

"Let's go then," said Mikoto enthusiastically.

* * *

The next morning, Jotaro came early to Furinkan in his male form. He wandered around the school, trying to get a feeling of the place, in case he might need to escape somewhere there. It was not that he was particularly paranoid, it was just that recognizing his surroundings had saved his life more than once. He noticed mystified that there were secret passages under the auditorium leading to vast rooms, some of them being Hawaii-themed. Filling that away for latter, Jotaro went up to his classroom. Seeing the teacher there before everybody, he showed him the papers justifying his enrolment and his lack of uniform. The teacher nodded and showed him his place near the windows. Jotaro went there to put his belongings and watched outside. He immediately noticed Nabiki Tendo arriving and going up to many other students. He noticed that many of them were giving her money.

_'Racketeering,'_ he thought._ 'I'm glad I didn't stay at their home, she might have tried to blackmail me or to enrol me in her activities.'_

He then noticed Akane arriving and observed a strange ritual. Guys from nearly all of the sport clubs started to attack her while asking her for a date. Akane mercilessly put them out of commission until none of them remained. He had to admit it, she wasn't really bad, although she was way under Jotaro's level. At the end of the onslaught, a kendoist came from behind a tree sent a rose at her while spouting bad Shakespearean poetry before attacking her with a bokken. Jotaro noticed that Kuno (since that was his name) was holding back against Akane, which actually made no sense since he seemed to believe that she would go out with her if he beat her and he was obviously very much in love with her. Akane was visibly against the idea given how viciously she fought against him.

Kuno eventually fell on the ground before rising again and shouting: "I fight on!" before falling one last time, unconscious this time. Jotaro noticed that Nabiki collected her winnings from bets. She was obviously extremely venal.

Jotaro then tuned out what happened outside and waited till the classroom filled, most of the students eyeing him curiously. Then Nabiki entered the room and sent an inquisitive look to him, not recognizing him with his outfit. She had a bandage on her cheek, which soon became the gossip of the classroom, much to her annoyance. She started to speak to three other girls who were obviously her underling. Then class started.

"Class, we have a new student today, coming from China," said the teacher. "Let's say him a warm welcome."

Jotaro got up and nearly glided up to the desk. He then turned towards the other students and locked eyes with Nabiki, who recognized him and became white as a sheet.

"My name is Kujo, Jotaro Kujo," he said neutrally. "Nice to meet you."

Nabiki started to shake under the flabbergasted gaze of many of the students. Some of them decided to ask some questions.

"Why are you not wearing a uniform?" asked a boy.

"I have a medical condition that prevents me from using it, so I wear these clothes," he answered. "My sister has the same condition. You will see her sometimes. She wears the same clothes as me, is a redhead and will be taking notes for me from time to time." He locked eyes with Nabiki, conveying with his gaze what exactly he would do to her should she betray his other identity. Nabiki whimpered in fear, which shocked the students and the teacher, who knew about her dealings and how she blackmailed some of the teachers.

"Why is Nabiki scared of you?" dared to ask a girl. The teacher looked interested in the answer.

"She tried to threaten me and I showed her the errors of her way," he replied.

All the students and the teacher boggled at this. Nobody had ever managed to cow Nabiki. It was obviously a feat. Jotaro just didn't imagine how much. No one dared to ask any other question after that. Everybody was scared of Nabiki, so anything that frightened her was to be feared by anybody else. Jotaro didn't mind, he wasn't a very social person after all.

Jotaro then went back to his place and the class started with a maths lesson. Jotaro watched where they were in the program, then nodded as he obviously knew it and fetched a book from his Doorspace inconspicuously. He then read it for a while before he was interrupted by the teacher.

"Mister Kujo," said the teacher a bit irritated, "might I ask you to answer the question on the blackboard?"

Jotaro put his book down and watched the question, which concerned a basic differential equation. He then looked at the teacher with a bored gaze.

"You interrupted my reading of the proof of Fermat's Theorem just for that?" he said lazily, before going to the blackboard and solving the equation in thirteen seconds, writing included. The teacher looked slack-jawed at that.

"Uhhh... Well, it's correct," said the teacher with unease. "You can go back to your place and... go back to your reading I guess."

The other students were impressed, including Nabiki. Nobody had ever managed to get a right to do anything but work in this teacher's class. Jotaro nodded and went back to his place and to reading. Some time later, the door opened and Kuno stepped in. The teacher looked used to it since he didn't say anything to him and let him go to his place, giving an inquisitive look to Jotaro.

When lunchtime came, most of the student flocked to Nabiki to ask her about Jotaro. However, Jotaro sent her a furtive look that chilled her bones so she remained tight lipped. Then Kuno came. Since he had more money, Nabiki couldn't resist selling him what she thought Jotaro wouldn't mind. Besides she wouldn't remain scared of him for something he wouldn't dare to do at school, dammit!

"Ten thousand yen, Kuno-baby," she said.

"Foul mercenary," grumbled Kuno while he still gave her the money she asked.

"His name is Jotaro Kujo and nothing much is known about him," detailed Nabiki. "He arrived at our house yesterday with his father but didn't stay long. His father intended to marry him to one of us, but..."

"What!" shouted Kuno. "Married to the fair and beauteous Akane Tendo! I shan't allow it. Have at thee, scoundrel!"

He then drew his bokken and charged at Jotaro, who had already summoned Star Platinum when he had heard Nabiki begin to talk. Jotaro sent a scathing look at Nabiki before grabbing his things at fast speed and putting them in his Doorspace. He then sent his table at Kuno, who reduced it in splinters with a downward slash and continued towards Jotaro. He then slashed horizontally at Jotaro. Jotaro deflected it to the ceiling by punching it with a punch reinforced by Star Platinum, making Kuno fall on the side and making anybody's gaze widen at the display of prowess. Jotaro noticed that Kuno's bokken was still intact despite the shattering blow. He deduced that the weapon was infused with ki. Kuno went back up while Jotaro went calmly in the passageway.

"Where are you going, coward?" bellowed Kuno.

"Out," replied Jotaro. He then remembered that there was a swimming pool on the ground three floors under and got an idea. "Follow me so we can fight without interference." And he jumped through the open window into the swimming-pool. Kuno followed him without hesitation.

"He's mad!" screeched a girl. "We're on the third floor!"

Everybody rushed to the window and looked downwards where they saw the swimming-pool where two silhouettes were blurring.

"Either he has balls of brass or he is very observant, or he is very lucky and insane," stated one student. All the others nodded in approbation. Nabiki was the only one not to. She was to busy worrying for her well-being.

When Jotaro hit the water, he instantly transformed. He was soon followed by Kuno and remained underwater. The water would deform the sight for everyone not in the water and would allow Jotaro to get his vengeance on Kuno. Jotaro waited for Kuno to come and let Star Platinum go all out.

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORAAAAAA!"

The Stand pummelled Kuno along with Jotaro. Between the two of them, Kuno received a hundred and nine punches in the space of seven seconds. The cumulated strength was so great that Kuno flew out of the swimming-pool and crashed into the wall. Jotaro called back Star Platinum and got out of the pool. She rushed to the woods.

"Wasn't Jotaro smaller when he got out of the pool?" asked a student with good eyes.

"Didn't he have red hear as well?" asked another.

Meanwhile, Jotaro was wringing her trenchcoat to get rid of the water in it. She then took off her cap, her kung-fu trousers and hers Chinese shirt, leaving her clad only in form-fitting boxers rather than the male-only ones Ranma used to wear. She then dried herself with a towel, took a change of clothes in her Doorspace and put them on. She then put her trenchcoat on and shook her cap to get the water out of it and put it back on, hiding most of her red bangs. She then went back to the school.

While Jotaro was walking back to school, Akane noticed her during her lunch and she became immediately chilled and stopped eating. She had regained consciousness the day before when this psychopath had shot at her sister. She knew that the pervert boy-turned-girl was mad enough to kill her should she displease him... her... whatever.

When Jotaro went near Akane, she felt a scared look on herself and scanned her surroundings. She immediately noticed Akane sitting with two other girls who had stopped her lunch and had the same look as a dear caught in the headlights. She made a beeline towards her and stopped two feet away from her, eyeing her as if she was looking at an insect, which made Akane very nervous. Jotaro knew that, due to the pledge between Soun and Genma, nothing good would ever come from friendship with the Tendo daughters. It simply wasn't worth it. She decided to kill any friendship that might stem from her contact with the Tendo daughters.

"What is your problem, Tendo?" she asked imperiously. Akane became very scared.

"No-Nothing," she stammered.

"Then would you stop gazing at me? It grates on my nerves," said Jotaro impatiently.

"Hey! How dare you speak to Akane like that?" shouted one of the girl, whose name was Sayuri.

"Yeah!" said the other named Yuka. "Apologize this instant!" She then went to Jotaro to slap her but was stopped by Akane.

"Don't!" shouted Akane fearfully. "Even Nabiki is scared of her."

That effectively stopped Yuka who opened wide eyes, as well as Sayuri and about everyone in the vicinity who had heard, that is to say about half of the school. Up in the third floor, Nabiki, who had been observing the scene cautiously, winced.

_'Smooth, Akane, real smooth,'_ she thought. _'One of these days I'll teach you to stop spouting sensitive information.'_

"That reminds me," mused Jotaro. "I have to make her pay for sending that blockhead Kuno after my brother." Up in the third floor, Nabiki whimpered.

"You can't!" shouted Akane. "Besides, you don't have..."

"Say anything more and you won't have the use of your vocal cords for a long time," interrupted Jotaro while raising her hand in a threatening manner.

Akane then saw red. How dare this... this trollop make her look like a coward in front of half of the school and threaten her sister! In the span of a second, Akane forgot all about her fear, overwhelmed as she was by a rage that short-circuited her major cognitive functions. She howled incoherently and she charged Jotaro. Jotaro saw her coming and, faster that the students could see, plunged a nukite in her solar plexus, removing all of her breath in one hit and paralysing her lungs for about forty seconds. Akane fell on her knees and her eyes widened in fear as her rage disappeared due to the onslaught of pain she was suffering from.

"I thought you knew better than attacking me unprovoked," said Jotaro neutrally. "Next time, I won't be so merciful." He then turned around only to be faced with Kuno, who was still looking worse for wear and was looking at her wide eyed with no small amount of lust.

"Do mine eyes deceive me?" he shouted. "Verily, this red-haired pigtailed beauty is a true vision of loveliness. Have at thee!" He lifted his bokken at her.

"Have you lost your mind?" asked Jotaro rather neutrally given the circumstances, which impressed everybody watching the scene. There were used to Akane blowing a fuse when Kuno harassed her.

"Clearly my magnificence has affected you so strongly that you can't help but say nonsense," declaimed Kuno. "Very well, if you beat me, I'll allow you to date me."

"I thought you were in love with Akane Tendo there," said Jotaro while pointing at the still downed form behind her. Kuno looked stumped for a moment.

"Akane Tendo and the pigtailed girl," he talked to himself. "How can I choose between the fieriness of the tigress Akane Tendo and the regal frostiness of the pigtailed girl?" He mumbled for a minute before shouting: "I must have them both!"

He charged at Jotaro using his bokken like a spear. She asked herself if this guy was for real before avoiding the first strike by jumping back. Kuno tried a downward slash next but Jotaro avoided it to by sidestepping it. He then tried a horizontal slash that she bent under in what looked like an impossible angle. When he tried a diagonal slash, Jotaro caught it bare-handed, which flummoxed everyone watching. She looked boringly at Kuno before sending a Star Platinum enhanced kick in his genitals that lifted him of the ground, which made Kuno's face distort under the tremendous pain that followed, and the male half of the spectators wince in sympathy. His face seemed to loose its insane look which was replaced by a mixture of pain and, probably for the first time since his early youth, fear. Jotaro grabbed him by the collar of his kendo garb before he fell on the ground.

"If you value your balls," said Jotaro frostily, "you will refrain from attacking me and my brother in the future. And you will refrain from lusting so obviously after me."

"Your... brother?" he managed to utter despite the pain.

"We share the same name," explained Jotaro. "Jotaro Kujo." At hearing this, Kuno's eyes widened more. "Bother him or me and you shall suffer dire consequences."

She then shoved him on Akane, making both of them cry under the pain.

"You two deserve one another," she said to them. "You're both delusional and you both act without thinking."

She then left a congregated assembly of students and went back to her classroom, intent on dealing with Nabiki. Akane remained rooted on the spot, thinking fast. Was she really as bad as Kuno was. It couldn't be... Could it?

When Jotaro went back to class, she noticed that Nabiki wasn't there. She also noticed the English teacher there, waiting for the class to start. She gave her several sheets justifying her presence, the absence of her 'brother' and her lack of uniform. The teacher nodded and asked her at what level she was in English. When Jotaro took _Ulysses_ out of his belongings and started to detail several parts in perfectly spoken English, she told Jotaro that she had the afternoon free and that she would be devising means to teach her something that she could actually find useful or plan up lessons she would teach with the help of Jotaro. Jotaro nodded and went out. After perusing the whole school and not finding Nabiki, Jotaro deduced that she had gone back home and decided to meet her there.

* * *

Nabiki ran to her home as fast as she could. She had taken one of the back doors at the school to avoid Jotaro when she had threatened to make her pay. She was thankful to Kuno for distracting her, she didn't think she could have escaped otherwise. As she saw her home she started to breath more easily. She opened the door and closed it immediately behind her, sighing in relief.

"I'm home," she called.

Kasumi came at the call, surprised that Nabiki was there so early. Soun came too, curious as well. Genma wasn't here. He was still at the hospital.

"What are you doing home so early Nabiki?" asked Kasumi.

"We've got a problem," answered Nabiki. "Jotaro Kujo is enrolled at Furinkan."

Both father and daughter stiffened when they heard it. They eyed Nabiki fearfully.

"It can't be," sputtered Kasumi.

"It is," Nabiki shot back. "I saw him. Her too. And he is pissed at me. He also beat up Akane again. He also beat up Kuno twice and I think he is the only one who ever managed to get past his madness. Worst of all, everyone knows I'm scared of him. And he promised to make me pay because I accidentally sent Kuno after him." She was babbling at the end.

"Is that why you came back early?" asked Kasumi.

"Yes, dammit!" snapped Nabiki. "He wants to hurt me, I know it. He shot at me for God's sake!"

Soun who had remained silent until now, decided to manifest himself.

"Isn't there any way for one of you to honour the pledge between our families?" he asked timidly.

Both daughters looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Then they became angry.

"Father," stated Kasumi while she was simmering, "If you believe for one minute that any of us will marry this... this psychopathic madman, then you're mistaken to the point of being delusional."

Nabiki wasn't nearly as polite when she expressed her opinion.

"Are you fucking mad, Daddy!" she shouted. "This guy is dangerous! I'm pretty sure he has already killed in cold blood. I've seen his eyes. You don't get eyes like this by simulating. He acts like nothing in this world holds importance to him but himself, and he's ready to do anything to do what he wants. I don't want to even approach this madman, let alone have me or one of my sisters married to him."

"But... Genma and I made this pledge a long time ago," he cried. "It's a matter of honour!"

"Newsflash, Daddy," growled Nabiki. "He doesn't believe in honour. He is ready to hurt anyone, even girls, old people or even children. Besides, he doesn't believe that he is Ranma Saotome and to be frank I don't believe it either. So he isn't concerned by your pledge."

"Beside, Father," said Kasumi with a disappointed look, "if you're more worried about your pledge than the safety of your daughters, then you don't deserve to be called a father."

And with this, Kasumi went back to the kitchen, leaving Soun crumbling under sadness and guilt. Nabiki sighed in disgust at her father and went up to her room. She opened the door and closed it behind her.

"Hello again, Tendo," said a cold voice behind her.

Thunderstruck, Nabiki turned around slowly. She couldn't be here!

"I would advise you against screaming," said the voice, still as cold. "It would draw your family here, of course. But the end result would be two more hurt people."

Nabiki finished turning and there she was, in all her glory, standing in the middle of her own bedroom, her sanctuary, as if she owned the place, her gaze still ice-cold. Nabiki felt a lump in her throat. She had fallen in a trap and now she couldn't escape. She closed her eyes and waited for her fate.

"I have nothing against your bets," said Jotaro. "If students are willing to lose their money on something futile it is their right." Nabiki didn't believe what she heard and opened her eyes. She noticed that Jotaro's eyes were still cold and waited for the other shoe to drop. "It's the same with your loansharking. You're just exploiting your peer's idiocy, it's the basic of business after all. But your racketeering and blackmailing, I can't allow. I thus took all of your evidence and photographs. Know that if I ever see you blackmailing or racketeering someone, this goes to the police."

Nabiki gasped. A large source of her income had suddenly gone up to smoke. She would be hard pressed to make ends meet since their father didn't work. She said so to Jotaro fearfully.

"I don't care," replied Jotaro. "Make your father work if you want money. He's obviously wasting his time reminiscing. You can even get your older sister to work. After all she plays housewife for her father, which is downright pathetic if you ask me. You have ways to make a living without taking it on others, so do it or I'll make you regret it."

Nabiki couldn't believe it. Jotaro was ordering her how to lead her life. She liked the way she had lived until now since she was the top shark. She was addicted to the feeling of power she felt when she conned someone. And now she had to give it up since she wasn't at the top of the food chain any more. But she didn't dare to protest. She was too scared of what Jotaro 'Wild Card' Kujo could do.

"Now we have to deal with the fact that you sent Kuno after me for money," said Jotaro. At that, Nabiki's blood froze again. How could a mere individual terrify her so much?

"This begs for punishment. I don't care for your money, after all I'm rich," said Jotaro rather neutrally. "And it wouldn't teach you anything. I have another punishment for you."

Jotaro summoned Star Platinum and made it break Nabiki's right middle finger. Nabiki cried in pain. She had never broken anything until now and the pain was something new for her.

"This should teach you not to cross me any more," said Jotaro threateningly. "Even though I've been merciful."

"M-Merciful?" asked Nabiki incredulously despite the pain.

"Well, yes," replied Jotaro. "After all I could have torn your finger out of your hand."

And with that, he jumped out by the window. Nabiki cradled her hand, wondering about the changes that she would have to make with her family's finance. Her father and sister didn't know how she got the money she provided them and she didn't want to tell them how she got it.

"Nabiki!" shouted Kasumi as she entered her bedroom. "Are you all right?"

"Not really," she answered, still cradling her hand. "Jotaro Kujo was here."

Kasumi stiffened at hearing this. She normally was a relatively unflappable girl. But if there was one thing that she was deathly afraid of, it was Jotaro Kujo. The man held so little consideration for other's life that it was her antithesis. She whimpered.

"What did he want?" she whined. "What did we ever do to him?"

"He wanted to pay me back for sending Kuno after him," explained Nabiki. "And he cut my activities. I can no longer bring as much money as I could." Of course, she still could have for a while if she had used the savings she constituted for college and her early working life, but she didn't want Kasumi to know that.

"What will we do?" whimpered Kasumi.

"Simple," replied Nabiki tiredly because of the pain and the roller-coaster of fear she had sustained, "either you or daddy start to work. I'll try to convince Daddy but don't hold your hopes too high."

With that, Nabiki and Kasumi went down to try to convince their wimp of a father to work.

* * *

The next morning, the students in Furinkan were treated to a sight that made them wonder if they were dreaming. Nabiki Tendo was wearing bandages on her right hand and, lo and behold, she wasn't racketeering students. Sure she took some bets, but this was an attraction by itself. When Jotaro came and eyed her intently, she shuddered and went to the classroom, making herself and Jotaro the subject of gossips throughout the school.

Kuno tried to challenge Jotaro, in his male form for now. Jotaro deduced that Kuno had a really selective memory. When Kuno said that Jotaro was trying to court the 'fierce tigress Akane Tendo', Jotaro asked him if he was mad, since there was no way he would even want to have anything to do with such an impulsive brat. That put Kuno over the edge and he started to thrust his bokken at high speed while howling "Strike". The thrusts were so fast that they managed to destroy a tree by air pressure alone. Jotaro was cut on the left cheek and sustained a blow in his ribcage before he had enough. He summoned Star Platinum and used its Time Stop. While everything around him seemed to freeze, he sneaked behind Kuno and dispelled the Time Stop. Kuno searched wildly when he saw Jotaro disappear and the rest of the student body looked flabbergasted to see Jotaro suddenly disappear and reappear behind Kuno as if he had teleported. Jotaro performed a neck-breaker with a knife-hand on Kuno which put him immediately out of the realm of consciousness. He then noticed Akane's would-be suitors, also called the Hentai Horde, eyeing him warily.

"How could people be masochistic enough to get beat up just for the slight probability of having a date with this girl is beyond me," he said to them. "But I guess it is your right as long as none of the teachers forbids you to do it." And with that he went to class.

Class seemed somewhat strange for the students. The reason was that Jotaro seemed to be reading some horribly complicated books. They had to be since whenever the teachers would ask him to stop reading and he showed them the books they would look impressed and let him read again. The other strange thing was that Nabiki looked really nervous whenever Jotaro was in the vicinity. The normally studious girl spent the day watching Jotaro nervously. When people came to ask for information about Jotaro at lunchtime, she flat out refused to tell anything to anybody, saying that her own safety was at stake. Jotaro did notice, although no one could tell, but he had other things on his mind.

This evening she was going to have her first ever gynaecological exam.

AN: I had a reminiscence of the fight with D'Arby the Gambler in the third part and I wanted to use Jotaro's comment when breaking a finger, I found it fun. As for Mikoto's Stand, it won't be revealed until much later. After all, Jotaro doesn't have the Arrow on him since he gave it to Jolyne. I also noticed that I didn't explain Jotaro's "Yare yare daze". It is his catchphrase and seems to be inherited from Joseph Joestar, who sometimes says it too in Part 2. It means more or less "Oh well" with a hint of exasperation. It was translated in the French edition by "De mieux en mieux" (except in Tonkam's edition of Stone Ocean) which is translated by a sarcastic "Better and better". Jotaro always says it when he is irritated, mostly in Part 3, not so much in Part 4, 5 and 6.


	4. Wanderlust

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

III) Wanderlust

The gynaecological exam had gone better that Jotaro would have thought. She and Mikoto had learnt several interesting facts about Jotaro's female body, like the fact that it was fully functional and also the fact that each transformation (it had flabbergasted the gynaecologist quite a bit) seemed to reset Jotaro's biological clock. Which meant that, unless he managed to avoid hot water for a month, she would never have to bother with her period, which was a plus in her mind. She didn't know what the hormonal onslaught would do to her stoic composure and she wasn't eager to find out.

The days at school became ritualistic for Jotaro. He would come male, render Kuno unconscious, since the idiot was obviously delusional if he thought he had a chance to win and go to the classroom. There he would either read a book during class or help the teachers, given his capabilities in the scholastic field. At lunchtime he would disappear in the teacher's room, take a cold shower and she would go back to class for the afternoon, where the same activities would take place, only with a female Jotaro. During recess, Kuno would try to court her, except that it wasn't really effective since he he still had his "should you defeat me, I'll date you" mentality. Jotaro usually pummelled him into oblivion. Brutal as she was, Kuno was only present one day out of three and he usually was in bad shape. This had the unfortunate effect of deterring about everyone from being her friend. Jotaro was used to loneliness but it grated on his nerve to suffer from it only because of one bumbling fool. The positive effect was that although many boys lusted after her (Jotaro was so observant that it was obvious to her), no one dared to bother her with dating and they hadn't attacked her like they had with Akane. She only had Kuno to deal with, which was more than enough.

While she was at Furinkan, she kept an eye on both Tendo daughters. Their body language would betray if they were planning something or if they had news of Genma. Jotaro emphasized his watch on Nabiki, if only because he saw her way more than her sister, but also because she was the manipulative one.

When she came back home, Jotaro trained physically for a few hours, then he cooked with Mikoto and spent the evening talking with her about supernatural subject and occasionally working some tests with her on herself and on her Stand. Then she would turn back to male and either practise martial arts or do his homework. Jotaro actually needed only three hours of sleep every night, so he had time to better himself. Since he had reached the peak of his mastery over his Stand, he stated to incorporate it into his fighting style, like he had done against Kuno. The results were astounding. He was becoming a monster of martial arts that was extremely difficult to battle, especially since Star Platinum's speed, strength and precision had bled into him. He was way better than Ranma ever had been.

Today, he was going at Doctor Tofu's. He didn't feel anything wrong but had learnt that the man was extremely knowledgeable in some martial arts fields and esoteric medicine and wanted to actually learn more about it.

"Hello there, mister Kujo," said the Doctor. "How are you today?"

"Absolutely fine, Doctor," answered Jotaro respectfully. "I came here to day with the hope that you could tell me about some reading I could do in the field of shiatsu."

"You came to the best place for that," said Tofu jovially. "Let's get you some reading material."

They spent half an hour in Tofu's library, browsing over old and new tomes while Tofu explained some of the basics to Jotaro. The Doctor became extremely impressed when he saw Jotaro stuff his books in Doorspace, but became disappointed when he learnt that this ability couldn't be learnt.

"I noticed that you didn't ask me for my scrolls about advanced techniques," said Tofu idly.

"I wouldn't understand them at my level," responded Jotaro casually. "I obviously need some training before. Besides, they look old and precious. Maybe you simply don't want just anybody to take them away from your practise."

"You're a very observant young man, respectful and patient too," praised the Doctor.

"I'm only respectful when I think people deserve it," replied Jotaro. "Respect is a two-way street and should be earned and never freely given."

"Wise words, young man," said the Doctor sagely. He then accompanied Jotaro to the lobby. While he was shaking hands with Jotaro, Kasumi entered.

Jotaro summoned Star Platinum as soon as he saw Kasumi. He wasn't sure whether Kasumi was with her father or not, in which case he might need Star Platinum to neutralise him inconspicuously. At that moment, he noticed that Tofu's glasses had fogged up. He then felt his hand being squeezed beyond reason. He stopped time to escape the doctor's grasp and went away from him. He then eyed Kasumi suspiciously.

Kasumi had stiffened when she had seen Jotaro in Tofu's practise. Then the Doctor had started acting silly like he always did when she came, so she figured that Jotaro didn't have hostile intentions yet. She became unnerved when Jotaro went out of the Doctor's reach and started to eye her suspiciously. So Kasumi wordlessly gave the book to the Doctor and promptly went out of the practise. After she vanished, Tofu's glasses cleared up and he blinked owlishly. He then turned towards Jotaro with a sad smile.

"I suppose you want an explanation?" he asked sadly.

"I'd like to," replied Jotaro. "I have already seen mad people but I have never seen such localized madness."

"Come in my office," he sighed. "I'll explain there. Nobody comes for a while when Kasumi Tendo comes"

Jotaro followed Tofu in his office. The doctor closed the door and sat at his desk. Jotaro did the same.

"To begin with," started Tofu, "do you believe that an unhealthy mix of live and lust can make you do anything? Event the most stupid thing?"

"A friend of mine wed a woman who previously sequestrated him and even went as far as trying to kill him," answered Jotaro. "So I know that love and lust can render you crazy. But one thing you should know about them, when Koichi agreed to wed Yukako, he hadn't changed at all from when he was young, she was the one who had changed. So love and lust might make you sometimes crazy but they surely are not indomitable."

Tofu looked actually relieved at the last part of Jotaro's speech. The young man was obviously believing that he had a chance of getting sane in the presence of Kasumi. This was more trust than everybody else had been willing to give him on the subject. Even the other Tendos believed that he was a lost cause when it came to her.

"When I first met her, she was only fourteen," resumed the Doctor. "She was the nicest and most beautiful teenager I have ever seen. And deep inside me, I felt an indomitable lust swelling. I came this close to actually seduce her, but she was fourteen and I didn't want to contemplate even testing the waters. But then came the call to rape. I came horrendously close to actually raping her. But my moral integrity wouldn't allow it. When I knew I couldn't hold myself back any more, I snapped and created this clown persona for whenever I'm seeing her. It protected her from me. Nowadays, she's legal and I don't think I would rape her any more but this persona is so firmly anchored in my moral integrity that I didn't manage to get rid of it. I don't even know how I created it. I fear that if I try to get rid of it, my moral integrity would collapse altogether."

Jotaro eyed the Doctor silently for a minute. He then took a book out of his Doorspace and gave it to the doctor.

"What is it?" he asked, curious about this answer.

"Everything there is to know about hypnosis," replied Jotaro. "Written by someone who could actually dwell in minds and modify them. Since we don't have him here, this will have to do."

"You're agreeing to help me?" said the Doctor full of surprise and hope.

"You didn't succumb to your inner demons, that alone is worth praise and help," Jotaro explained. "Plus you're actually helping me with my studies, so I owe you a favour. If I find useful meditative techniques, I'll tell you about them."

This was the beginning of another friendship for Jotaro. Said friendship lasted even when, at the Doctor's question, Jotaro told him why the Tendos were scared of him and who he really was. Tofu didn't condone the use of violence, but given Jotaro's situation he had to agree that he didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

A young black-haired man wearing a tiger-stripped bandanna and a yellow Chinese shirt with back kung-fu pants was treading in the south of Honshu Island in Japan. He was carrying a large backpack and a red bamboo umbrella. As he came in view of a village, he noticed the people fleeing from an enormous wild boar. Sighing boringly and despite the calls telling him to seek shelter, he brandished his umbrella and struck the boar once. Said boar flew in the air before falling back in front of the young man, clearly unconscious. The villagers stepped in to kill the boar and congratulate the young warrior. However, the only thing he said was asking where Tokyo was before going south, at the opposite of his destination.

* * *

Jotaro was going out of school in his boy form for once. He had traded mornings and afternoon between his forms since he wanted to train in his boy form later. He suddenly felt a presence filled with ill intent.

"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!" screamed a voice from above.

And Jotaro _moved._

He had become extremely fast since he had started to train in martial arts in conjunction with Star Platinum. Strong too for that matter. Currently Jotaro was training by infusing his whole body with the summoned Stand. It gave him a non-negligible boost in power and speed. He was trying to maintain it for as long as possible. The speed boost was even usable during the Time Stop. Jotaro could now move a few thousand metres during the five second the Time Stop lasted, instead of forty metres in his old world.

To the eye of the other students, Jotaro blurred, then stopped six metres back from his original position. The ground shattered where he was less than a second before under the strength of a young man with a tiger-stripped bandanna.

"Who are you?" asked Jotaro neutrally. The young man looked at him furious.

"What do you mean, who I am?" shouted the young man. "Don't you remember, you coward!"

Jotaro eyed him for a minute while thinking. He knew who he was but his alibi was that he knew Ranma Saotome before he died and that Ranma had told him about his life. He wasn't going to reveal to just anyone who he really was.

"No, I don't. Should I?" asked Jotaro still neutrally.

"Wha-What?" stammered the young man in rage. "You bastard! Why didn't you come at our duel?"

The information was all Jotaro needed to craft his story.

"You are Ryoga Hibiki. You're an extremely powerful individual but your sense of direction is clearly atrocious. That is why when you challenged Ranma to a duel in the lot behind your house he waited for you there three whole days without you coming. Genma Saotome forced him to leave after that. That's why you didn't find him. All in all, this is your own fault if he missed your duel. You should have planned it better if you knew you would take time coming," detailed Jotaro.

"Shut up!" shouted Ryoga. "When I came the fourth day you weren't there. And why do you speak about yourself at the third person? You sound stupid."

"I don't sound stupid since I didn't speak of myself at the third person. My name is Jotaro Kujo, maybe the only person in the whole world that looks exactly like Ranma Saotome. And Ranma Saotome is dead."

The crowd went silent at that. Ryoga went bug-eyed at that.

"Wha-What do you mean dead?" he stammered, in shock this time. "For that matter, how do you know him?"

"I met him in the Qinghai province in China," explained Jotaro. "Since we looked so much alike and had the same drive for physical combat, we instantly became friends and wandered together. He told me much about his life. Then, when we arrived in Nerima, he contested an arranged marriage his father forced on him. In response, his father hit him on the back of his head, killing him. That's how he died, killed by his own father."

Everybody fell silent at that. The story was an extremely sad one. Ryoga looked dejected at that.

"Damn that Ranma," he shouted. "He made my life hell and he died before I could have my revenge. What a coward!"

Jotaro frowned at this. This guy had no respect for the dead and he only thought about himself.

"You shouldn't disrespect the dead like that," he said icily. "You sprout about cowardice when you came late at a duel you started. If that isn't cowardice, then I don't know what it was."

"Shut up!" screamed Ryoga. "You don't know anything!"

"Ranma told me everything I needed to know," replied Jotaro. "You started this stupid feud just because he was faster than you at getting the last meals at the self in school. Then it was because he beat you all the time. So you're jealous and a sore loser. To think that Ranma even went as far as bringing you back to your house everyday... You're an ingrate, that's what."

Ryoga saw red at that dressing down he was sustaining in front of so many people. He had tried to make Ranma look bad and this Jotaro guy had disrupted his whole argument. He decided to get revenge. After all, this guy was probably even weaker than Ranma. Ryoga didn't think he would have any problems defeating him.

"Jotaro Kujo!" shouted Ryoga while pointing a finger at him. "I challenge you to a martial arts duel tomorrow afternoon at this place and this time."

"Make that one week from now and you have a deal, ingrate," said Jotaro indifferently.

"Don't call me an ingrate!" shouted Ryoga back. "And one week of training won't save you against me."

"No," conceded Jotaro drolly, "but it will give you enough time to come back, given how easily you get lost."

Ryoga gritted his teeth in anger. This guy was getting him even madder than Ranma did. He went away, since he didn't know what to respond to him and didn't want whatever he said to be used against him.

* * *

"A bread feud?" asked Mikoto disbelievingly.

"Yes," answered Jotaro. "It is my firm belief that Ranma had almost never been in contact with normal people. He attracted nutcases. He might have had a curse. Another one I mean. It wouldn't surprise me. There might be more to this Chinese saying, "May you live in interesting times"."

"And it will take him up to one week to find the road to Furinkan again," she asked.

"That's why I gave him a week to find the place again," replied Jotaro.

Mikoto mulled on this silently for a minute.

"Why do you even bother with such an idiot?" she asked, not understanding why.

"He rubs me the wrong way," declared Jotaro. "It could come from assimilating Ranma's memories. This guy has no respect for the dead. He was insulting Ranma's memory, even though Ranma considered him the only friend he had. I won't stand for this and I'll make sure he regrets crossing me."

* * *

Exactly one week later, Jotaro was waiting on the grass inside Furinkan. He had been doing this for a week, training there in his male form while waiting in case Ryoga came there early. The ingrate hadn't, so Jotaro had been stuck waiting here.

He heard a commotion just outside of the school's walls.

"Where the hell am I now?" shouted a voice Jotaro recognized. "You! Where the hell is Furinkan high school?"

"It-It's just here," said a shaking nondescript voice. "Didn't you see the sign?"

"Oh. Well here I come," said the voice sheepishly. And sure enough, Ryoga appeared by the school entrance. Without preamble, he unsheathed his umbrella and made a beeline at Jotaro while howling: "JOTARO KUJO! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Jotaro eyed him with an obvious lack of interest in a relaxed stance with his hand in the pockets of his trenchcoat. When Ryoga tried to slash him with his umbrella, Jotaro simply sidestepped. To all observers, including Ryoga, he just seemed to glide. Ryoga snarled and tried again, crushing the ground as several of his hits missed. How did Jotaro do that?

Jotaro gained some distance and eyed Ryoga critically.

"You're strong, that much is obvious," he stated. "But you lack speed, finesse and precision. Your hopes of beating me are almost non-existent."

"Shut up and die!" growled Ryoga and he threw his open umbrella like a boomerang. Jotaro noticed that the edge of the umbrella was extremely sharp and evaded it. He then eyed Ryoga critically while said guy got a triumphant air.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Jotaro, pretending to be oblivious.

"Ha! You fell into my trap," shouted Ryoga while he saw his umbrella come back at great speed at Jotaro.

"Oh, really?" said Jotaro boringly while he evaded the umbrella a second time.

The entire student body gaped at this. They had firmly believed that Jotaro was done for when the umbrella few towards his back. His evading the umbrella surprised everybody and made Nabiki and Akane despair. They were so sure he would be done for with that hit.

Ryoga eyed him with no small amount of disbelief and anger. His major trump card had been foiled.

"How did you do that?" he asked imperiously.

"Awareness is a wonderful skill to have," answered Jotaro. He always had Star Platinum watching his back, even when they merged. "You're even more of a coward that I thought if you attack an unarmed man with such a heavy weapon."

"Heavy?" said Hiroshi, one of the watching students. He saw the umbrella lying on the ground and tried to lift it. But he couldn't make it move. "What the hell is that thing made of?"

Akane got curious and tried to lift it too. She managed it but barely.

"This thing's got to weight at least two hundred kilos!" she exclaimed.

"And this kid is wielding it with one hand," added Daisuke, another student. "How strong is he?"

"So Jotaro is in trouble," stated Nabiki gleefully. If this guy beat Jotaro, she had to make him her ally.

Ryoga tried to punch and kick Jotaro but none of his attacks made it. Jotaro grabbed one foot and threw him on his belly on the ground. He then jumped on his back and grabbed both of his feet and one of his arm and held Ryoga in a submission pose.

"Do you yield?" asked Jotaro contemptuously.

The tone enraged Ryoga who managed with some effort to stand on his remaining arm and he threw himself high in the air, hoping to dislodge Jotaro. However, Jotaro held firm and managed to twist both of them. He held until they were one metre away from the ground and then propelled Ryoga face first into it. Ryoga landed so hard that he made a crater at the impact. Jotaro landed gracefully and beckoned him. Ryoga got up with difficulty and eyed Jotaro with hatred.

"Now that you've proven the extent of your skill, it is time to prove how much I outclass you," said Jotaro sternly. He didn't even sound arrogant, it just seemed that he was stating a fact.

Ryoga howled incoherently and jumped in the air, ready to strike Jotaro from above. Jotaro just stood there eyeing him, feet slightly apart, his whole body straight, his right hand in his pocket and his left arm high and bent over his head, his index finger protruding from his fist. He stopped Ryoga's hit with the nether part of said wrist and didn't seem to move. Two craters appear at his feet, making everyone's eyes boggle. He had redirected the tremendous force of the hit directly into the ground using his body like a conduit. Ryoga snarled and as soon as he touched the earth he sent a straight right at Jotaro's face. Jotaro just caught it without moving anything but his arm and immobilized Ryoga, much to his shock. Then Jotaro's whole body seemed to rotate and his right fist plunged into Ryoga's gut, enhanced by Star Platinum's strength. Ryoga flew back a dozen metres away and slammed into one of the school walls, much to the shock of the student.

"The real question," said Hiroshi more than impressed, "should be: How strong is Jotaro?"

Jotaro went to Ryoga's umbrella as Ryoga was wheezing with his back on the wall. He grabbed it one handed and juggle with it once, much to Akane's shock. He then threw it like a throwing knife at Ryoga. Ryoga saw it coming at fast speed and determined that it would kill him if it touched him. He couldn't move due to fear. Fortunately, Jotaro had intentionally missed him. The umbrella embedded itself a good seventy centimetres into the wall just besides his head. He lift his head and noticed Jotaro eyeing him emotionless, as if he hadn't come extremely close of killing him.

"Now you see the difference of skill and power between us," stated Jotaro.

Ryoga became enraged beyond reason and started to slash wildly at Jotaro, sending shrapnel on all directions when his slashes hit the ground and hurting several unsuspecting students, including Nabiki.

"Ryoga stop!" shouted Jotaro. "You're endangering the students!"

Ryoga didn't listen and continued to slash incoherently.

"Fine, if you won't listen then follow me," grunted Jotaro. He then turned to the other students. "I'm going to lure this dimwit out of here in a zone where there will be no collateral damage. Don't follow us!"

And with that, the chase was on, with Jotaro egging Ryoga who was calling him a coward.

Four minutes later, Jotaro was in Nerima's park near a fountain. Ryoga had followed him and his rage had not diminished.

"Hurting innocent people, you are completely uncaring," stated Jotaro.

"Shut up, Jotaro! And stop moving!" demanded Ryoga. "Take your punishment like a man!"

"Do you listen to the way you speak?" asked Jotaro rather drolly. "You're spouting so much nonsense it makes you look stupid. You should think before you act, you know. Everyone at Furinkan thinks that you are a bully."

"Shut up, you bastard!" he shouted. And threw his open umbrella again. However, this time Jotaro caught it and closed it before putting it on his shoulder.

"What is your problem with Ranma?" asked Jotaro, suspicious. "It can't be that bread feud, can it? You're not that stupid..."

"Shut up!" snarled Ryoga while still trying to hit him. "After he fled from our duel, I followed Ranma in China. I went to Jusenkyo."

Jotaro stopped moving. If the boy went to Jusenkyo and was angry at Ranma for leading him here, there was only one explanation.

"You fell into a spring and acquired a curse, didn't you?" asked Jotaro piercingly. Ryoga stopped as if thunderstruck.

"Wha-? How did you know?" he asked flabbergasted.

"You're not the only one who got a curse there," stated Jotaro.

At that moment, the fountain blew under the strain of the previous strokes and water flew at Jotaro. He could have deflected the water easily with Ryoga's umbrella but he felt that it would help him prove a point. Besides, he hadn't passed much time in his girl body these last days and he felt he should. He let the water flow around him and felt his height diminish, his manhood vanish and his breast swell. She adjusted her stance to her new weight distribution. Ryoga eyed her incredulously.

"See," said Jotaro. "I have acquired a curse of my own. My own conclusion about it is: Deal with it or die."

Ryoga look incensed at that.

"You think you have it bad?" he snarled.

"Not at all, I'm quite graceful I got this one, it's one of the less bothersome ones. Besides I have a golden opportunity. I can discover life from a different point of view," countered Jotaro. "All in all I think I got very lucky."

"You bet you are," snarled Ryoga even more angrily. "You have such a manageable and nice cursed form. You disgust me!"

Ryoga then took his bandanna and threw it at Jotaro. She noticed that the bandanna had a sharper edge than the umbrella. She avoided it. She then noticed that Ryoga still had his bandanna.

"Still using weapons like a coward," stated Jotaro boringly. He then looked inquisitive and asked: "By the way, Ryoga, how many bandannas do you have?"

"Shut up Jotaro!" shouted Ryoga. And he threw several bandannas.

Jotaro prepared to evade them. She did so by jumping in the air but noticed that Akane had just appeared on their trajectory. She cursed. She had told the students not to follow them and Akane hadn't listened. She was probably still on her "I'm a martial artist too" phase. Jotaro landed and used Star Platinum's Time Stop. She rushed to Akane and released the Time Stop under Akane's flummoxed gaze at the sudden appearance of Jotaro. She opened Ryoga's umbrella and deflected most of the bandanna. She then grabbed Akane by the collar of her uniform and, despite her yelp, she jumped with her on top of a metal shelter's roof to escape the remaining bandanna. Jotaro then released Akane, who gasped since she had been strangled by her uniform when Jotaro had jumped. Akane regained her breathing and eyed Jotaro angrily.

"What did you do that for?" she asked imperiously.

Jotaro eyed her scornfully.

"I remember explicitly telling you and the other students not to follow us since it was dangerous. Didn't you listen?" she said angrily.

"I can take care of myself," replied Akane angrily. "I'm a martial artist too!"

Jotaro looked at her scornfully. Akane recoiled as if struck. She started to remember how dangerous Jotaro was.

"You may be a martial artist but you're way less proficient in it that both of us are. If you can't even realise how badly outclassed you are, then maybe you are as good a martial artist as you think you are," stated Jotaro.

"How dare you?" shouted Akane angrily. "I can defend myself!"

Jotaro said nothing and took one of Ryoga's bandanna she had managed to get and threw it at high speed at the shelter's metallic roof. It pierced it just beside Akane's hand. Akane's eyes widened in fear.

"Do you really think you could have defended yourself against that," asked Jotaro scornfully.

"N-No," she stammered.

"Then get away from the fight, or you'll get into the line of fire again," said Jotaro threateningly. "And this time I won't save you."

At that moment, the shelter collapsed. Jotaro just said "Get away from here" to Akane before she jumped down. She noticed Ryoga with a blade that looked suspiciously like his belt. When Ryoga put the blade back around his pants, she deduced that she was right. Ryoga tried to attack her again with a bandanna. Jotaro deflected it again with the umbrella, then she dashed at Ryoga and performed a nukite on his neck. Ryoga stopped fighting immediately and started wheezing since he could barely breath any more. His eyes then widened as he looked at something behind Jotaro. Jotaro whirled and she saw Akane, looking thunderstruck as her cut hear flew into the wind. Ryoga's bandanna deflected by Jotaro had accidentally cut it. Jotaro eyed her critically.

"I told you you should have gotten away," said Jotaro neutrally. "You should have listened."

"Akane!" shouted Yuka who was coming. "Are you all right?"

"She isn't hurt, but she has a nasty haircut," answered Jotaro.

"How can you be so callous?" exploded Sayuri. "Don't you know how important her haircut was to her?"

"I warned her against coming here, she didn't listen," Jotaro shot back. "She can only blame herself."

"A-Akane," stammered Ryoga. "It's our fault if you're like that. You can hurt us if it makes you feel better."

Akane slapped him almost immediately. She then tried to slap Jotaro but the girl stopped her hand before it hit her cheek.

"I didn't cause your haircut," she stated. "Ryoga threw the bandanna and you were on the trajectory where it ended. So don't blame me." He then eyed her hair critically. "Your haircut is horrible. Let me arrange it."

And before Akane could protest, Jotaro had taken one of Ryoga's bandanna and a flurry of movements began around her head. Twelve seconds later, Jotaro stopped and eyed her work critically. Akane felt the result.

"I hate to admit it, Akane, but you look better now than before," said Sayuri hesitatingly.

"I should hope so," replied Jotaro. "I've cut hair for years. You should bring her to Doctor Tofu, she has a sprained ankle."

And with that she went away. Yuka and Sayuri took Akane away. Ryoga remained rooted where he was, a lost look on his face.

* * *

Later that night, as Jotaro was sleeping in his male form, Ryoga entered his room at Mikoto's house by the window. It had taken him several hours to get someone to tell him where Jotaro lived. It was currently raining outside. The noise woke Jotaro up but he didn't move. He just summoned Star Platinum out of his body. Ryoga stood above Jotaro and tried to punch him. Jotaro sidestepped it as if moving in his sleep. Ryoga frowned and tried again. Jotaro evaded again.

"STAND STILL DAMMIT!" shouted Ryoga.

Jotaro barely believed it. How stupid was this guy? He had surely woken up Mikoto by now. Star Platinum punched him, sending him through the window without his backpack and his umbrella. Jotaro immediately followed him, changing in his female form. She noticed a pile of clothes and immediately knew that her hunch was right. Ryoga had a curse he didn't like at all. She noticed movement within the clothes and grabbed it immediately. The entity that was Ryoga squirmed under her grasp.

"If you don't want me to flatten you, you will stop moving so much," she threatened. Ryoga stopped squirming and stood very still. Jotaro brought him back into the house, where Mikoto was waiting for her, all light turned on.

"What is going on?" she asked a bit cautious.

"Ryoga Hibiki tried to attack me in my sleep. I capitalized on the fact that I suspected that he had a debilitating Jusenkyo curse and sent him out in the rain, where he transformed. I caught him and brought him back," detailed Jotaro.

"Ryoga Hibiki? The guy you fought yesterday?" asked Mikoto. "Was it him who shouted like an idiot in the middle of the night?"

"That was him," acquiesced Jotaro. She then grabbed into the bundle of clothes and took out a small black pot-bellied pig wearing Ryoga's tiger-stripped bandanna around his neck.

"Spring of the Drowned Piglet? He is rather unlucky," stated Mikoto.

"Let's hear his side of the story in the bathroom," said Jotaro.

They both went there. Mikoto then had a furo of hot water ready while Jotaro was holding the piglet by the scruff of its neck. When the furo was full, Jotaro threw the piglet into the water. Ryoga then emerged naked save for his bandanna while coughing water.

"Ready to tell your story, Ryoga?" asked Jotaro in a tone that didn't take no for an answer.

Given his rather precarious position, Ryoga told them. He told them how he had followed Ranma through China despite his bad sense of orientation. He told them how he had constantly missed him. He told them how, when he had arrived at the valley of Jusenkyo, a fleeing panda and a red-haired girl had knocked him into the spring of the drowned piglet. He told them how he had practically been cooked and eaten by the Jusenkyo guide. Finally, he told them about his search for Ranma, a search in the name of revenge.

Jotaro and Mikoto listened somewhat boringly. Jotaro had indeed deduced most of Ryoga's story and had told Mikoto about it.

"The panda and the girl who pushed you into the spring were probably Ranma and her father," stated Jotaro.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryoga sharply.

"When they were in Jusenkyo, Genma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Panda and Ranma into the Spring of the Drowned Girl," explained Jotaro. "Ranma turned into a perfect duplicate of myself, which is logical since he could be my twin physically speaking. So Ranma and Genma were the ones who knocked you into the spring."

Ryoga started to simmer.

"Damn that Ranma," he growled. "Because of him my life has been hell."

"You shouldn't insult the dead," said Mikoto frowning.

"I had already told him that," added Jotaro. "You don't seem to have a good memory. Besides, you were the one who decided to follow Ranma and Genma at Jusenkyo. If there's one person to blame, it's yourself."

Ryoga went mad at Jotaro's words. They were breaking the world he had carefully erected for himself. He wasn't going to accept that. He countered that the only way he knew.

"JOTARO KUJO!" he shouted while springing out of the furo. "PREPARE TO DIE!"

But Jotaro had anticipated that. She quickly splashed Ryoga with cold water and grabbed the small piglet while it was still flying. She eyed it contemptuously.

"What are you going to do with it?" asked Mikoto.

Jotaro didn't talk. She went to the nearest window, opened it, and hurled the piglet out with all her might.

"That," she finally answered.

Mikoto didn't say anything. She didn't need to. So she went back to bed. Jotaro did too.

* * *

The next morning at the Tendos, the members of the family assisted to a strange scene. Akane was feeding a small black pot-bellied pig with a tiger-stripped bandanna around its neck.

"Akane," asked Kasumi, "where did you get that pig?"

"He landed in my room this night," said Akane cheerfully. "Since he looked lost, I decided to keep him."

"And what's his name?" asked Nabiki.

"P-Chan," answered Akane still cheerful.

AN: Enter Ryoga. I had some fun writing the fight. For those who read 'New Grappler Baki' ('Baki' in the French edition), you might recognize Jotaro's way of blocking Ryoga's downward strike with his arm over his head and his finger extended. Raon Shobun uses it against Oliver Biscuit in the Dai Raitai Sai. It was way cool. This probably isn't the last move I steel from New Grappler Baki, this manga totally rocks. The man who can dwell into people's mind is obviously Rohan Kishibe and the one who wed a girl who tried to kill him is Koichi Hirose and the said girl is Yukako Yamagishi. I will probably make them appear in other stories.


	5. Nymphomaniac Fantasia

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

IV) Nymphomaniac Fantasia

A few days later, Jotaro was wandering in town in her girl body. She had decided to buy some groceries to cook an Italian dish to Mikoto. After a visit at Tofu, when she had tried some hypnosis techniques on him to get rid of his Kasumi induced fits, she had gone into the market and brought food. She was now going back to Mikoto's, now hers, house. While she went by a desert lot she noticed something going on.

A black-haired pony-tailed girl in a black uniform Jotaro didn't recognize was currently slashing at three bandaged people with a gymnastic ribbon. The three opponents were howling in pain under the strikes.

"Truly, you peasants don't deserve to appear in front of my glorious self," said the black-haired girl haughtily. She slashed again at her downed opponents.

The strike never connected. Just before it hit one of the bandaged people, a hand grabbed it. The black-haired girl looked disbelievingly at the hand, then at its owner. The slash should have at least left a mark on it, if not torn the skin. What she couldn't know was that Jotaro had infused her hand with her Stand. Not only did Star Platinum have a hard skin, but it was also wearing fingerless gloves on its hands. Only Sheer Heart Attack, Yoshikage Kira's Stand Killer Queen's extension, had ever managed to hurt Jotaro's hands.

Jotaro eyed the girl critically. The girl was obviously born into nobility given her arrogant and egoistic demeanour. But Jotaro detected a hint of insanity in her eyes not unlike that of Tatewaki Kuno. She decided to be careful around her. She might be a fool but in Jotaro's experience fools could be extremely intelligent and dangerous.

"Why are you so relentless against them?" she asked neutrally but with a hint of disapproval in her voice. "They are obviously beaten, you don't need to attack them any more."

The black-haired girl regained her countenance and looked at her with haughtiness.

"And who might you be, peasant?" she asked imperiously.

"I'm hardly a peasant," countered Jotaro. "Unless you possess the largest fortune of Japan, I'm richer than you and my great-great-grandfather was a lord and my father was of samurai descent. My name is Jotaro Kujo. What's yours, little girl?"

The black-haired girl faltered at Jotaro's introduction, before regaining her countenance once again.

"Apparently, your family didn't teach you the proper way to behave as a lady," she said in a shrill mocking voice. "My name is Kodachi Kuno... Peasant. Your family name isn't known to me, are you sure it actually exits?"

"If you really must know, _little girl_," Jotaro shot back, "my family was slaughtered a few years ago, so you might not have heard about it. Besides, we didn't make ourselves obviously known since we dealt with states secret affairs. Lastly, I can behave just fine, little girl, I just didn't think you were worth the effort. If anything, you're the one who's not behaving in a manner that befits her status."

Kodachi recoiled as if slapped. She then snarled and tried to reclaim her ribbon, but Jotaro held tight and didn't let go. Kodachi started to get really angry and to pull on her ribbon in a more savage manner. Jotaro released at a precise moment and the ribbon flew back to her with great speed before slapping her, not hurtfully but still enough to sting. She then eyed Jotaro, who she had nicknamed 'the red-haired trollop' already, and made a threatening gesture.

"No one slaps Kodachi the Black Rose and gets away with it!" she snarled.

"You slapped yourself, I had nothing to do with it," replied Jotaro drolly.

"AAAAAAARGH! I'll remember this insult, Jotaro Kujo!" she shouted. And with that, she summoned a tornado of black roses and was off by the roofs. Jotaro eyed her retreat, then turned her gaze towards Kodachi's victims.

"You guys should behave a bit more manly. Or choose your opponents better," said Jotaro neutrally.

One of the figures shivered due to barely restrained tears. Jotaro rose one of her eyebrows. Had she broken their spirit?

"But," sobbed the bandaged figure, "but that's it! We're not guys!"

Jotaro's second eyebrow rose.

_'They are from Akane's class, how pitiful,' _thought Jotaro.

* * *

Since one of the girls couldn't walk any more, Jotaro had help them to go to the Tendo Dojo. She had previously led them at Mikoto's house to put her groceries away. At the Tendos, the girls made a beeline, at least the best they could, to Akane's bedroom.

"Akane! You've got to help us!" wailed one of them in a manner that reminded Akane of her father.

The girls explained that they were members of the rhythmic gymnastic club and that they had a competition against Saint Hebereke high school coming. Kodachi was apparently their undisputed champion, as well as the holder of the previous title but she had apparently won it by incapacitating her opponents before the match. She had done so to all of the members of Furinkan's rhythmic gymnastic club. They were thus asking Akane to fill in for them.

"No problem," said Akane with determination. "I'll show her what a real martial artist can do."

"Against Tatewaki Kuno's cousin or sister? Are you sure?" asked Jotaro with interest.

Akane's bravado faltered instantly. She then got almost angry but she refrained. In her limited experience, getting angry at Jotaro was a bad idea. Besides, the girl hadn't been snappy or cynical to her for once and she wanted that to last.

"Kuno's family? It can't be!" she shrieked.

"Her full name is Kodachi Kuno, she's arrogant beyond belief and she probably is more insane than Tatewaki is," summarized Jotaro.

"Well I'll beat her fore sure!" said Akane in a sensibly less cocky tone.

"You have to get acquainted with the rules of martial rhythmic gymnastic first," pointed out Jotaro.

Akane grumbled but it was a fair point, so the girls and Jotaro went to the Dojo while she changed. She then joined them here in a pink and white leotard.

"So if I understand," she stated, "you have to beat your opponent while using only rhythmic gymnastic tools. Let's start with the ribbon."

She then turned around with said ribbon in order to make it flow around her but only managed to tangle with it. The girls tried not to snicker and mostly managed. Jotaro wasn't as considerate to Akane.

"Are you supposed to tangle with it?" she asked mockingly but with a straight face.

"I didn't see you do any better," growled Akane.

Jotaro wordlessly took the ribbon from her hand and untangled her. She then started to whirl and somersault around while making the ribbon flow around her with amazing grace despite wearing her trenchcoat. She finished her choreography by making the ribbon take a star shape. Akane and the other girl looked wordlessly at that.

"What-What's with the star?" managed to ask one of the bandaged girls.

"It's my family's symbol," answered Jotaro. "All of us have a star shaped birthmark at the base of our neck."

"That reminds me," asked another, "if you live at Yukihara-san's house, where is your family?"

"They all died," replied Jotaro without emotions, "Jotaro and I are the last I know of."

A pregnant pause ensued. Akane knew she was a dimensional traveller, but not that she had lost all of her family. She eyed her in a new light.

"Well, let's skip ribbon practise and try the hoop," said the last girl uncomfortably.

Akane took a hoop and tried to roll into it. She however only managed to break it.

"Are you supposed to break it?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

Akane had a scathing reply ready but before she could formulate it Jotaro had taken another hoop and was executing extremely difficult stunts while still brandishing it with style. Akane looked smouldering at the humiliation. She then tried to manipulate the ball but only managed to send it into her face. She then started to trample all around the Dojo.

"Aren't you supposed to be graceful?" asked Jotaro boringly.

She then executed yet another graceful ballet, with the ball this time. The three bandaged girls were looking wide-eyed at her.

"Miss Kujo," said one of the girls breathlessly, "you have to participate to this competition!"

Akane looked mad at the thought of Jotaro steeling her thunder but Jotaro nipped this idea in the bud.

"What's in it for me?" she asked emotionless.

"Uh?" said one of the other girls rather unintelligently. "Well, you'll be the champion of martial rhythmic gymnastic and you'll bring fame to our school."

"I'm not interested then," answered Jotaro casually as she saw their face fall and Akane's face somewhat lighten.

"Wha-? But... You can't!" sputtered the last girl. "We have to get back at Kodachi and winning this contest is our best hope."

"Then unless you're willing to pay me two hundred thousand yen, you'd better train Akane to win your championship," said Jotaro with finality.

"But... We don't have that kind of money!" shouted one of the girls with desperation. "Why don't you want to do it?"

"I don't like the spotlight," replied Jotaro. "Being feared at Furinkan is one thing, but being known in other places won't happen unless it's actually profitable for me."

"But... We're not nearly fit enough to train Akane! Haven't you seen how beaten we are?" wailed one of the girls.

"If it just comes to training her, then that can be arranged," said Jotaro calculatingly. "However, you'll have to render me a service."

"What kind of service?" asked the girls, wondering if Jotaro would be as bad as Nabiki.

"You'll just have to warn me if you notice anything in this town that looks out of ordinary," said Jotaro simply. This perplexed everyone, Akane included.

"Why would you like to know?" asked another of the girls.

"I want to know because my friends might be at the origin of some strange events and I have to find them," explained Jotaro. "You can even wait till you come home to phone me, unless someone is in danger, in which case call me immediately since I'm the best bet when it comes to saving people."

"Deal!" said one of the girls. "We'll let you train her. The competition is in one week. In the meantime, we'll try to go back to our homes."

And they left, limping because of their wounds. Akane thought about the whole scene and deduced something.

"You planned all this, didn't you?" she asked without preamble.

"Well, yes," replied Jotaro simply.

"Is the part about your friends true?" asked Akane with sympathy.

"At a hundred percent," answered Jotaro. "I don't know where they disappeared to. They have a higher chance of finding me than I have of finding them. And since they are rather unusual, I asked them to keep an eye for something unusual. Even if it doesn't lead to them, it could be something vital."

Out of the Dojo, Nabiki was eavesdropping. So Jotaro was trying to build an information network. She wondered if she could turn this to her advantage.

"And if your eavesdropping sister prevents them from telling me information, she's going to regret it," she added threateningly.

Or maybe not. She was extremely dangerous, after all. Nabiki scurried away hastily.

"Now that I'm training you, let me tell you that you're going to hate me," told Jotaro. Akane didn't seem to understand, so Jotaro detailed.

"You certainly have the drive, but you lack grace, finesse and flexibility," she told Akane bluntly. Akane looked ready to protest but Jotaro beat her to it. "Let's start with your last problem then. Prepare to suffer."

And suffer she did. But she felt all along that it was worth it.

* * *

Akane went wearily up to her room, feeling pangs of pain in all her muscles. Jotaro had run her into the ground. She couldn't remember ever practising this hard in her life. When she couldn't move any more, Ryoga had come and tried to become the one training her but since she was worn out, he had settled for demonstrating a martial rhythmic gymnastic battle with Jotaro. Akane had been flabbergasted with his proficiency and utterly flummoxed by how casual Jotaro was when deflecting all of Ryoga's attempts to hit her with the ball, ribbon and hoop. Jotaro was obviously miles ahead of Ryoga in this field, who was himself miles ahead of Akane. The said girl had nearly despaired when she had seen how far ahead the lost boy and the red-haired girl were but Jotaro had assured her that she could get good enough to beat Kodachi Kuno. He had then said that Ryoga would be tutoring her each two days since he was softer on Akane. Jotaro was a harsh taskmaster and she knew it.

Strangely enough, Akane didn't mind that much. She still considered Jotaro a bastard, or rather a bitch at present time, but at least she was honest about it. And she was the first to have given to Akane what she always wanted: someone who was willing to help her (even if said help had a cost) and wasn't considering her as a glass doll. Ryoga was gentler than Jotaro but still considered her a girl and wasn't willing to go too far when it came to training her. Jotaro didn't have such qualms and Akane respected her for that. She was even willing to admit that she kind of like her no-nonsense attitude. The girl was still a pervert since she was a boy that changed sex but Akane was willing to cut her some slack since she hadn't been perverted towards her.

As she entered her bedroom, Akane noticed something out of the ordinary. The floor was covered with black rose petals. She immediately went on high alert and that's what allowed her to intercept the mallet the Black Rose, dressed in a black flowered leotard, was trying to bring down on her.

"You're good, peasant," said the insane girl. "I have to admit it."

"What are you doing in my room this late?" shouted Akane. Then she remembered Jotaro verbally destroying Ryoga and a wicked idea came to her. She added: "You pervert!"

This actually surprised Kodachi so much that she released her hammer.

"Wha-Whatever gave you such a ridiculous idea?" she stammered horrified.

"You come late and unannounced in the room of a young girl," Akane shot back. "What else am I supposed to think?"

"I was coming to assure my victory in all fairness," said Kodachi haughtily.

"By incapacitating me before the match?" said Akane smouldering.

"Yes, actually," admitted Kodachi unabashed.

"Whatever," groused Akane. "I don't want to hear excuses from a pervert."

"I'm not a pervert!" shrieked Kodachi angrily. "I'll have you know that I come from the highest nobility and that I..."

But Kodachi never had the opportunity to finish her sentence. Akane had capitalized on her enemy's distraction and had grabbed her by a strap of her leotard. She then threw her into her wall, which knocked her slightly out. She then opened her window, took the Black Rose by one arm and one leg and threw her out of the window.

Ryoga and Jotaro were currently fighting in the garden around the Tendo Dojo. Or rather Ryoga was fighting and Jotaro was evading him effortlessly. Ryoga had tried before to attack her with gymnastic tools but it was obvious that it was getting him nowhere. So he had resorted to his fists, since his umbrella had been taken by Jotaro and he hadn't had enough time to have another one made yet. However, he wasn't having much luck with his fists either.

"Stand still, dammit!" he shouted at Jotaro.

"I ask you again," told Jotaro while evading a kick. "Why would I do that?"

"So I can finally hit you!" shouted Ryoga again.

"Okay," said Jotaro simply. She then stopped and caught Ryoga's fist in her hand effortlessly.

"You see?" she added. "Even if I let you hit me, you don't manage to do anything to me. You..."

Whatever she would have said was lost as a figure was hurled through the window of Akane's room. Both martial artists saw it but reacted differently.

Jotaro paused for a moment, Star Platinum at the ready for a Time Stop, and looked at who it was. Seeing that it was Kodachi Kuno and given how shrewd the girl was, she deduced that the Black Rose had tried to take Akane out of commission before the actual match and had failed at her endeavour as she was thrown rather gracelessly out of Akane's window. She decided not to do anything.

Ryoga, however, didn't know Kodachi Kuno, and when he saw a figure hurled from what he knew to be Akane's room, he jumped while crying "Akane" and grabbed the figure before it touched the ground. He then somersaulted to the roof.

"I've got you Akane," he said with relief. "You're safe now."

"Akane will be absolutely thrilled to find you in the arms of her sworn enemy for the martial rhythmic gymnastic competition: Kodachi Kuno," said Jotaro sarcastically behind him.

Ryoga growled at the thought of the girl he loathed being behind him, then processed what she had said.

"Wait... That's not Akane!" he said disbelievingly.

"It took you this long to notice. I'm astounded," drawled Jotaro.

At that moment, the girl in Ryoga's arms stirred from her previous daze and noticed where she was. Her gaze then focused on Ryoga.

"You saved me," she said softly in a tone that put Jotaro on edge. "What's your name?"

"Uhh... Ryoga Hibiki," answered the lost boy while blushing. He had never been in such close contact with such a pretty girl.

"I see... Allow me to thank you," she said.

And she drew a black rose in front of Ryoga's face. The gesture made Jotaro recoil to the edge of the roof, where Akane had put a ladder she was currently climbing. The flower then sprayed powder in Ryoga's face. Ryoga instantly felt paralysed and fell on his back, just as Akane appeared on the roof.

"You save my life and for that I am grateful, Ryoga Hibiki," said the Black Rose in a strangely serious tone. The she became more languid. "Let me give you a token of my appreciation."

And she kissed him fully on the lips. Ryoga didn't understand what was happening at first since it had never happened to him. His nose started to bleed after four seconds and his eyes rolled in their sockets after twelve more seconds. He fainted two seconds after that. His last thought was: _'Damn you, Jotaro Kujo. This is all your fault.'_

"Farewell, my knight," she said throatily. She then turned towards Jotaro and Akane and told them: "I'll have my revenge on you later. Love doesn't wait after all."

And with that she was off by the roofs. Akane blinked and turned towards Jotaro.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked incredulously.

"The Black Rose's revenge on us has been delayed thanks to Ryoga here who graciously sacrificed his tonsils for a non-surgical removal courtesy of the said Black Rose," said Jotaro indifferently.

"I saw he was being a pervert by myself, thank you very much," she replied flippantly. "What happened before that?"

And Jotaro told her. Akane digested it.

"Well," she said, "I'm glad I decided that being honourable to her would be a mistake."

"What do you mean?" asked Jotaro obviously interested.

"Well, since she was so dangerous, I decided to distract her. I called her a pervert and it got her so angered that I managed to attack her safely," she revealed hesitantly, hoping that Jotaro wouldn't cancel her training because she used dirty tactics. To her surprise, Jotaro started to smile.

"There's hope for you yet," she said with satisfaction.

"Uh? What do you mean?" she asked,not understanding.

"You just applied the rule of fighting," explained Jotaro. "Contrary to martial arts, where there are countless useless rules, in fighting there is only one rule that matters: no matter how degrading it is, no matter the means, you have to win."

While Akane mulled on this piece of wisdom, Jotaro elaborated.

"You're obviously not strong enough to take on Kodachi Kuno in a straight fight," she said much to Akane's chagrin. "Not yet, at least." Akane's eyes suddenly widened in joy at this subtle praise. "You knew it instinctively in your room, that's why you resorted to underhanded tactics. And with them you beat an opponent that was stronger than you. The only reproach I have to address to you is that you still hesitate to do so. I will change that. I can't bring you to Kodachi's level in one week, that girl has been an accomplished gymnast for the last decade. But I can teach you enough in this time to overcome that handicap. As devious as she is, this girl is pretty straightforward in her tactics."

Akane's mind whirled under all these revelation. Jotaro was willing to help her, and not by doing everything for her but by teaching her how to act by herself. She had judged her too harshly before.

"Since Ryoga is out of commission and is probably going to get lost to deal with what happened to him. Since I can't go too roughly on you tomorrow, I'm going to drill tactics, underhanded or not, into your skull," detailed Jotaro.

"I'm okay with that. What do we do about Ryoga?" asked Akane.

"Let's leave him here," said Jotaro. "He needs to cool down."

* * *

The next morning, Kodachi appeared at Furinkan in a tornado of black petals with a creepy laugh and wearing her trademark black leotard. All the students shuddered when they heard it. She made a beeline towards Akane.

"You, peasant, where is my Ryoga-sama?" she asked imperiously while brandishing her ribbon threateningly.

"Why should I know?" asked Akane angrily.

"You lie," screeched Kodachi seething. "Tell me, or else..."

"Ryoga is somewhere in Hokkaido," said Jotaro who had just appeared behind her.

Kodachi jumped in fright and whirled around. She saw Jotaro in his male form. She immediately blushed. Jotaro was after all extremely handsome.

"Who are you sir?" she asked throatily. She reached behind her for something. Jotaro summoned Star Platinum.

"Jotaro Kujo," he said boringly. "You met my sister. She has the same name as I have."

Kodachi stopped her gesture and looked at him wide-eyed.

"Whatever your sister said about me, it wasn't true," she said hastily.

"She didn't tell me anything," stated Jotaro. "We're twins and have a form of telepathy between us. I know what you did in front of her without having to ask her."

Kodachi faltered. Then she recomposed herself and thrust a bouquet of black roses in Jotaro's face. However, before she managed to trigger the paralysing gas release, Jotaro used a Time Stop. He then got behind her and released the Time Stop. Kodachi then triggered the gas release in the air.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Jotaro threateningly.

"But... But I love you, Jotaro-sama!" wailed Kodachi. Jotaro paused.

"I thought you liked Ryoga," stated Jotaro. Kodachi paused in realisation.

"Ryoga-sama, he has such a wild and manly appearance. But Jotaro-sama looks so sophisticated and dangerous," she muttered. She then shouted: "I can't decide! I most have them both!"

"You're really your brother's sister," said Jotaro emotionless. "If you believe I want to love you, you're mistaken to the point of being delusional. I'd sooner kill you than give you my love unconditionally."

Kodachi snarled at his rebuttal. She jumped at him.

"You will love me!" she shouted at him.

Jotaro avoided her and slid behind her. He put his hands together and closed them fingers intertwined, his forefingers pointing out.

"I don't think so," he said ominously. Then he shouted: "Sennen Goroshi!"

And jabbed his forefingers between Kodachi's buttocks with great force. Kodachi screamed murderously in outrage and pain while flying out of the school due to the strength behind the jab. All the students looked totally flummoxed at Jotaro's way of getting rid of the annoyance.

"Isn't that... kind of perverted?" asked Akane hesitantly.

"Yes," replied Jotaro. "But it gets the job done. I intend to teach it to you. Does it bother you?"

"Well, given whom you used it on, I guess not. Besides, it's a good attack to use on Nabiki when she bothers me too much," she answered.

In her classroom, Nabiki flinched. Jotaro was going to make her sister a monster who wouldn't be afraid of her. Her leeway was shrinking. She would have to do something soon.

* * *

The day before the match, Akane was still training with Jotaro in her girl form when Ryoga appeared.

"JOTARO KUJO! PREPARE TO DIE!" he shouted.

"What is it now Ryoga?" asked Jotaro impatiently. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

"Shut up! Because of you I have a lunatic girl after my lips!" he shouted.

"How is it my fault?" asked Jotaro back. "You were the one who saved her, even after I told you who she was. Wait a minute, did you see her again?"

"I got lost into her manor. She tried to kidnap me and I nearly didn't escape! Die!" he growled and charged at Jotaro.

Akane saw this and tried to put herself between Ryoga and Jotaro. Ryoga saw her too late and bowled her over. Akane fell on the ground and cried in pain. It stopped Ryoga on the spot. Akane was writhing in pain. She glared at Ryoga murderously.

"I think you should go out Ryoga," said Jotaro wisely.

"What? But..." he started, trying to speak.

"GET OUT!" shouted Akane at him.

Ryoga cringed and went out with his head low.

"I think we should bring you to Doctor Tofu," said Jotaro calmly, then held out her hand. "Come on, I'll help you."

Akane grabbed the hand and, limping, went with Jotaro at the Doctor's practise.

* * *

After Tofu had healed Akane the best he could, Jotaro had helped her in her bedroom. Kasumi and Nabiki had wisely kept out of her way. Soun had opened his mouth to say something but one look from Jotaro had cowed him. He remembered that Genma was still at the hospital.

Jotaro helped Akane on her bed. Then eyed her bruised ankle critically.

"That was really stupid of you," she said. "You know the difference of level between you and Ryoga and you still tried to stop him. Courageous but stupid."

"Well, excuse me," huffed Akane. "But I thought I should help you. Were it any other people, they wouldn't have fared very well against him."

"I didn't say it wasn't commendable, I just said it was stupid," countered Jotaro. "I am much more skilled than you so you couldn't have helped me much, except as a distraction. Now you've got a sprained ankle."

"I have no way to compete tomorrow, haven't I?" asked Akane desperately.

"It could be done," tempered Jotaro. "You could even win but at your level you'd need a lot of luck and mistakes from your opponent. Right now, you have maybe one chance out of one thousand."

"So it's hopeless," wailed Akane. "We will have to forfeit."

"Or you could ask me to participate in your place," said Jotaro casually. Akane lifted her head at that.

"I thought you said you wouldn't participate," she asked inquisitively.

"Not at all. I just said I wouldn't put myself on a display if I didn't get something out of it," corrected Jotaro. "I'm perfectly willing to participate."

"But I don't have two hundred thousand yen," objected Akane.

"Then you would owe me a favour," replied Jotaro.

"What kind of favour?" asked Akane warily. "If it's something perverted..."

Jotaro stopped her by grabbing a few file from... who knows where (Akane didn't know about Doorspace) and put them on her bed. There were photographs of a dozen of people on them.

"You would have to look out for these people," he said. "Those two," he said while pointing portraits of Giorno Giovana and Hayato Kawajiri, "are the most likely to show up. The other are less possible to ever see but not impossible, except one or two of them but you never know."

Akane looked at the photographs and realised something.

"They are the friend you're searching for aren't they?" she asked softly.

"Yes," replied Jotaro simply. "I'm not even sure whether any of them are alive or not. Should you see any of them, tell them that Star Platinum wants to see them and bring them to me."

"I suppose none of this goes back to anyone else?" asked Akane pointedly.

"That goes without saying," replied Jotaro.

"Then we have a deal," said Akane while stretching her hand.

Jotaro shook it.

* * *

The next morning, Ryoga was wandering around a building.

"Damn that Jotaro," he growled to himself. "Not only does he get me chased by an insane girl but he also managed to get Akane angry at me. When I get my hands on him..."

Whatever he wanted to say next was drowned by a bucket of cold water that fell on him. He instantly turned into a little black pig and managed a pitiful "bweee".

Kodachi happened by and noticed the black piglet. She remembered it as being Akane's pet and caught it in her hands.

"This pig will be very useful," she mused.

Ryoga was scared out of his mind. This was the crazy girl who had stolen his first kiss and had tried to kidnap him to do unthinkable things to him. He was so doomed...

* * *

Jotaro was walking in her girl form with Akane towards the locker rooms. While going there they came across Kodachi.

"Well if it isn't the peasant girls," said Kodachi haughtily. Akane glowered.

"If anything, you're closer to an actual peasant than I am, so what does that really make you?" drawled Jotaro.

The girl sputtered before regaining her balance. Akane smirked. Jotaro was good. Kodachi then held her hand out for Jotaro.

"May the best woman win," she said snidely.

Jotaro noticed the pins standing out of her palm, hidden between her fingers. Akane noticed too and was prepared to act but Jotaro nudged her. Jotaro then took her hand on the outer part of it with his left hand and flattened Kodachi's palm on her torso while he put his own right palm on his torso. Kodachi's eyes widened and she obviously did great efforts not to cry.

"This is how we salute among nobility before a match," said Jotaro mirthlessly. "Don't tell me you ignored it."

"Of... course... I... didn't," she gritted through her teeth. She then went to her locker room at high speed.

"That was genius," said Akane while she laughed.

"Why did you think I did it?" asked Jotaro idly.

They went into the locker room. Jotaro then changed into a dark red leotard. She didn't put on a bra with it, even a sport one since she didn't have the habit of it. Besides she didn't even own one. Maybe she'd have to look into it after all. Her breasts would be juggling. She then got an idea and put on her trademark trenchcoat and cap.

"What are you doing?" asked Akane.

"I'm keeping this on so the juggling of my tits won't be too noticeable," answered Jotaro.

"But... you can't," said Akane feebly. She was trying not to be jealous of Jotaro's figure but the redhead made it difficult.

"Actually, nothing in the rule book says that I can't," replied Jotaro. "No one tried this before because clothes would hinder them. That's not a problem for me."

She then closed two buttons on her trenchcoat so as to cover her breasts, leaving the rest open. At that moment, a girl from Saint Hebereke came and gave Jotaro a bouquet of black roses as a good luck present. Jotaro took it and immediately put it into a gas-proof plastic bag. The sound of gas filling out the bag was almost immediately heard. Jotaro sent a pointed look at the girl who had brought the flowers and she scrambled away in fear. Jotaro then put the bag with the flowers and the gas... who knows where. Probably in her trenchcoat, after all Akane didn't see where else she could put it.

"What are you going to do with it?" she asked.

"I don't know yet," answered Jotaro. "But I have a feeling that I will need it soon."

Jotaro then went out, followed by a nervous Akane. Had anyone seen them, it would have seemed strange that Akane was the most nervous one as it was Jotaro that would compete.

* * *

The gymnasium was full of people. Most of them were from Saint Hebereke, which was logical if you thought about it. They had an opportunity to see their champion fight. All the previous contestants had been dispatched before the matches. Of Furinkan, only a dozen of people had come, including Akane, Mikoto and Kuno.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen_," said the proctor in the mike, "_welcome to the finals of martial rhythmic gymnastic!_"

The crowd went wild, especially the Saint Hebereke side.

"_On my right, the undisputed champion of Saint Hebereke high school, current holder of the title of regional champion of martial rhythmic gymnastic, the Black Rose Kodachi Kuno!_" announced the proctor.

Kodachi arrived from the rafters, clad in a black flowered wedding dress which she shed upon arrival. She then proceeded to profess her love for both Ryoga Hibiki and Jotaro Kujo, much to the public's confusion, since they didn't know who they were. None of them seemed to comment upon the fact that Kodachi had professed her love for two people.

"_On my left, our champion's challenger, coming from Furinkan high school and the most serious contender against our champion, Jotaro Kujo!_" said the proctor much less enthusiastically.

Everyone fell silent as Jotaro simply jumped on the ring. The crowd had noticed that the name was the same as one of Kodachi's love interest and started to mutter. Jotaro eyed Kodachi critically.

"I'm not even flattered by your attention and let me tell you, I'm not even remotely interested in you," she said bluntly so as to be heard by everyone.

Kodachi facefaulted. She immediately went up and started to justify herself.

"I do not have such an unnatural attraction!" she shrieked. "I love your brother Jotaro, not you!"

"Well, all the same," replied Jotaro, "he doesn't feel even the slightest attraction to you. He told me so. Something about you being too flat."

The crowd was shocked speechless at such an admission. Kodachi was simmering in anger at such a dismissal.

"Enough of this!" she shouted. "Let's fight! Take of your trenchcoat."

"I most certainly will not," replied Jotaro. "Nothing in the rule book obliges me to separate from it. Since I don't want to, I will keep it."

The male part of the crowd groaned collectively at that. Even with the trenchcoat taut over her breasts, it was obvious that Jotaro had prominent assets.

"_Well, it seems that Jotaro Kujo is right," _confirmed the proctor. "_Nothing obliges her to take her trenchcoat off. Let's see how well she fares with this handicap. Will the two contestants shake hands?_"

Jotaro summoned Star Platinum and held her hand out to shake Kodachi's. She knew that Kodachi had something nefarious planned, she was that good at reading people, not that Kodachi was hard to read. Kodachi shook her hand, then grabbed something with her left hand. Jotaro noticed that it was just a chain and decided to play along and let herself be trapped. She then noticed that the chain was three metres long and that Ryoga in his pig form was attached at the other extremity. Akane's eyes widened and she started to worry.

"Is this legal?" asked Jotaro carefree, as if she hadn't been chained.

"_Nothing in the rule book prevents this from happening, so this is legal,_" confirmed the proctor, while Kodachi was laughing haughtily at Jotaro's predicament. The Saint Hebereke part of the public applauded their champion for her cunning.

"Just wanted to know," said Jotaro calmly.

She then seized the chain and, with Star Platinum's strength, she broke the lock at her wrist. She then plucked the chain off her wrist. She then did the same on Ryoga's side and just said "Catch" to Akane before throwing a bewildered Ryoga at her. Lastly, she wrapped the chain round her left arm, leaving about one and a half metre hanging like a whip, and turned to the proctor.

"According to your interpretation of the rules, my new weapon is totally legal," she said with a small smile.

The crowd fell silent at this upheaval of the situation. Then the Furinkan side started to cheer wildly at Jotaro.

"_Well, the situation looks worse for our champion than we thought,_" said the proctor while gulping loudly. "_Let the match begin!_"

Kodachi immediately took a ribbon and started to slash wildly at Jotaro, who hadn't even moved. Jotaro simply evaded her first attacks and noticed something shiny at the edge of the ribbon. She blocked the next strike with the chain and heard a loud 'CLING'. She deduced that the ribbon had a sharp edge and given the fact that the proctor couldn't have not heard the noise, she also deduced that the proctor considered it fair game. They seemed willing to go to great length to let their champion keep her title. Jotaro decided her next plan of action in about four seconds.

While Kodachi slashed one more time, Jotaro brought the chin up and made it connect with the ribbon. She then twisted it and made it coil closely against the ribbon. She then yanked it with all of Star Platinum's might. Kodachi wasn't prepared for such an unfair tug of war and released her ribbon. Jotaro quickly unwrapped it and seemingly put it up her right sleeve.

"What will you do now, little girl?" taunted Jotaro.

Kodachi snarled and one of her aids sent her a pair of clubs. She then charged at Jotaro. Jotaro decided to block her first strike with her hands and waited for Kodachi to hit her. However, at the last moment, she noticed a switch that Kodachi was about to press.

And Jotaro _moved._

As Jotaro backed away for what he considered a good security distance, two metres, Kodachi flipped the switch and spikes shot out of the gymnastic club for less than half of a second before retracting themselves. Jotaro looked at the proctor who didn't seem to have noticed anything and just seemed surprised at the speed she displayed. She deduced that he hadn't seen the spikes. She then dashed at Kodachi, wrapped the chain around both of the clubs and yanked them. The clubs came as easily as the ribbons had and she stuffed them into Doorspace. Kodachi snarled again and took a hoop that she sent at Jotaro. Jotaro noticed the sharp edge of the hoop and grabbed it by its inside. She then made it whirl at fantastic speed for two seconds before sending it back vertically from were it came. The hoop left a trench in the ring and cut the ring's rope before flying into the wall and embedding itself cleanly into it. The crowd gaped silently at the sight. They were wondering how Jotaro had countered such a weapon.

"Is that all?" taunted Jotaro again.

"You won't survive my next attack," growled Kodachi. "The dreaded Attack of the Thousand Hands!"

She dashed at Jotaro with only two clubs that every body could see but Jotaro noticed that she had many more of them. She then started to pummel Jotaro at high speed with them, giving the impression that she had twenty or more clubs blurring. Jotaro knew however that it wasn't just an optical illusion. She calmly plucked each and every club with his Star Platinum enhanced speed. A second later, Kodachi looked in disbelief at her empty hands while the crowd looked in disbelief at the twenty clubs that were in Jotaro's hands for a second before he made them vanish... somewhere.

"You really carried twenty clubs at one time," said Jotaro in a casual observation of her opponent's skills. "That much is commendable I think. Now, what will you do with only a measly ribbon and a ball as your only defence?"

Kodachi snarled once again and grabbed the gong with her ribbon before sending it at Jotaro at great speed. Jotaro just punched it downward and pierced the ring with it. He heard a faint shriek coming from under the ring. She filled that in for later. Kodachi, seeing that her tactic hadn't worked the first time, got obstinate and sent a table, which Jotaro reduced to splinters with Star Platinum's punch, the unfortunate Tatewaki, who Jotaro punched squarely out of the ring without a second thought, and lastly a kettle full of boiling water. This time, Jotaro decided to get revenge on the Black Rose for all of the underhanded tactics she was pulling with the help of the proctor. She wrapped the chain around the kettle, brought it over Kodachi and turned it upside-down. The kettle emptied on Kodachi who shrieked in pain as her skin started to blister.

"You reap what you saw," said Jotaro ominously. Then, as Kodachi was dealing with her pain, she activated a Time Stop.

The world immediately seemed to freeze around her. Jotaro grabbed a flash grenade in her Doorspace, took out the pin and threw it under the ring, thanks to the hole she had done on it earlier. She then released the Time Stop and as Kodachi was trying to overcome her pain and grab a ball, the flash grenade exploded, making a ray of light appear from the hole in the ring. Howls of pain were immediately heard from under it, howls that the proctor couldn't ignore.

"_It seems that there are people under the ring,_" he said. "_I wonder what they are doing here._"

Jotaro grabbed the ring mats one after the other and sent them at Kodachi, who dodged frantically. She couldn't very well block them since she wasn't strong enough to even lift one. Jotaro was decidedly a monster of strength. Under the ring, the members of the Saint Hebereke martial rhythmic gymnastic club were rubbing their eyes. All of them had been blinded by the flash. Then they noticed the daylight and gulped when they saw Jotaro glaring at them.

"Get out of here or I'll make you," she threatened. "And I won't be gentle."

The girls fled with their tails between their legs. Jotaro then eyed Kodachi. Since she had destroyed the ring, she and Kodachi were on the ring posts. Kodachi was definitely looking nervous at what she had seen. Jotaro was extremely scary with her casual displays of power.

"Time to lose, little girl," she said condescendingly. "The only choice you have is whether you do it gracefully by forfeiting now or I bring you down hard."

Kodachi snarled one last time and sent her ball, a normal one for once, at Jotaro. Jotaro just caught it and threw it back. Kodachi yelped and jumped towards another post. However, before she could land, Jotaro snared her feet with her chain and made her turn over her head at high speed until Kodachi fainted. She then threw her out of the ring where she lay unmoving.

"_And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the surprise of the year,_" said the proctor disbelievingly. "_Kodachi Kuno, the as of today undisputed champion of martial rhythmic gymnastic has lost. The title of champion belongs to Jotaro Kujo._"

At this, the Furinkan part of the crowd went wild while the rest was still eyeing the carnage disbelievingly. Kodachi woke at that moment and looked around.

"I...I lost?" she said feebly. "Impossible..."

"Totally possible," replied Jotaro. "You spent so much time cheating that you neglected your training and simply weren't strong enough. You should renounce to my brother."

"You're right," said Kodachi forlornly. "My passion for Jotaro Kujo has extinguished." She then took the mike and said: "As of now, a new passion for Jotaro Kujo fills my heart!"

Jotaro eyed her with a murderous look. This girl pissed her off with her delusions.

"If you think my brother would love such an obviously pathetic girl as yourself, you're more delusional than I thought," said Jotaro venomously.

Kodachi snarled one last time and took her ribbon to attack her. However, Jotaro was faster. She took the sharp-edged ribbon she had taken from Kodachi and whirled it around her. Kodachi's ribbon fell into pieced, but Jotaro wasn't finished. She dashed at Kodachi while still whirling her ribbon and went behind her in the process. Then she paused. Kodachi looked around her and noticed that her ribbon seemed to be the only casualty.

"Ha! You obviously missed your target," she said while whirling around towards Jotaro and pointing her finger at her. At that moment, her leotard creaked and fell into pieces, starting from the top and down to her nether regions.

Kodachi froze in shock and shame at what was happening to her in front of so many people. Then the skin of her front and back tore and the bloodied kanjis for 'cheater' appeared on her front and back, covering the entire surfaces. Kodachi then screamed in humiliation and pain.

"You should know when to back down, little girl," said Jotaro threateningly. "Next time, I won't be so gentle."

Kodachi bit down whatever she wanted to say and fled back to the locker room, trying to hold back her tears of shame and pain. She tried to cover herself with her hands but it was too painful and she had to go without covering anything while the guys were whistling at her.

"Let's hope she learnt her lesson," said Jotaro neutrally.

* * *

"I have to admit that you were impressive in this match," said Mikoto to Jotaro while they were coming back home. "Although what you did to her after you won was a bit cruel."

"It might be a bit cruel but it probably made a strong impression on her mind," replied Jotaro. "Perhaps she'll leave my male self alone this time."

"Or perhaps she'll pursue you more than she ever did before as it is the perfect way to get revenge over your female self," Mikoto shot back.

Jotaro stopped walking and had a dismayed expression on her usually emotionless face. She hadn't thought of this possibility.

"Tell me she isn't that stupid," she almost begged. "She knows I would hurt her for real if she tried."

"I don't make promises I can't keep," said Mikoto sardonically. Jotaro sighed.

"Oh, well," she said. "I'll deal with it when the time comes. I have another problem right now."

"What is it?" asked Mikoto.

"I have to buy some sports bras and a female swimsuit," said Jotaro emotionless.

Mikoto face-faulted. Jotaro said the most outrageous things with such a serious face sometimes. Jotaro for his part was going to analyse Kodachi's gas. It looked interesting.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the Sennen Goroshi, I just couldn't resist. As for Akane becoming friendly to Jotaro, I hadn't actually planned it since I'm not a big fan of her. But before I stated bashing her, I realised that it had been overdone and that I would miss a lot of the events of the manga. So I made her Jotaro's friends. I haven't seen many fics where Akane is just Jotaro's friend and nothing more. Jotaro's attitude will somewhat bleed into her but that's as far as it will go. This will not be a Jotaro/Akane pairing. Sorry for the Akane lovers but I don't see how I could make it work. Besides, I have another one planned, a rather exotic one. Wait and see.


	6. Moondance

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

V) Moondance

"So let me get this straight," started to detail Jotaro. "You were at the skating-rink with your friends. Then while you were eating you noticed that P-Chan had disappeared. You eventually found him in the arms of a small girl who called it Charlotte. Then some playboy took it from her and gave it back to you while revealing that the girl is a kleptomaniac who gives silly names to everything she steals. Then the girl challenged you to a skating competition of which P-Chan is the prize. And you accepted before realizing that it implied duos and that they both were Asuza Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin, the undisputed champions of ice-skating."

"Well yes," admitted Akane shamefully. Jotaro sighed

"You have to learn to choose your battles Akane," said Jotaro with a bored voice. "So this concerns me how?"

"Well I have to find a male partner for the event and you're the only one even remotely good that I know," she answered uneasily.

"What about Kuno?" Jotaro shot back.

"Don't get me started on him," growled Akane. "If I ask him for his help he'll start shouting that destiny has put us together. You're way less likely to try to jump me."

"And what makes you think that I'll accept?" asked Jotaro meaningfully.

"Well," answered Akane hesitantly, "let's just say that I'll owe you a favour, kind of like we did for the martial rhythmic gymnastic competition."

"Well, I'm all for it," said Jotaro. "I even know what favour I want to ask you."

"What is it?" asked Akane cautiously.

"You have to teach me how to skate," replied Jotaro simply.

Akane blinked. Then she blinked a second time and turned incredulously towards Jotaro.

"You don't know how to skate?" she asked disbelievingly.

"There are things I don't know how to do," pointed out Jotaro. "Skating is one of them. So, deal?"

Akane thought about it for a few seconds, during which she reconsidered how fast Jotaro had learnt some fighting styles, and she made her mind.

"Deal," she answered.

* * *

The next morning, Akane and Jotaro in her girl form were at the skating-rink. P-Chan remained with Akane's things since it feared getting lost. It didn't prevent it from eyeing Jotaro angrily.

"Any reason why you're in your girl form today?" asked Akane inquisitively.

"I spent my whole day in my male form yesterday," answered Jotaro. "So I decided that today should be a girl day."

"You balance your forms?" asked Akane with suspicion.

"Exactly," replied Jotaro. "It has the advantage of greatly reducing the times when I change sex without wanting it. Ranma didn't do it and as a consequence water sought him, literally. It's a safety measure, really. Besides, I have to get to know this body given that I'm stuck with it until the end of my life."

Akane nodded. This made sense. She then walked on the ice with her skates and beckoned Jotaro on the ice. Jotaro shook her head negatively.

"Show me how you do it first," she told her. "I want to see your technique before even trying it. It would help me greatly."

Akane nodded again. It was a sane approach and it was the same that was used in martial arts. Jotaro was using a martial arts approach to apprehend ice-skating. She thus started to skate, first in straight line, then she started to curve her trajectory. She then made a few circles, even one or two 'eight' figures, and even showed Jotaro how to skate backwards. She then made a few whirls, a few jumps and even an axel. She eventually went back to Jotaro.

"Did you see all of it?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Jotaro simply. "I paid good attention to which muscles you used in your legs and tights and how you moved your centre of gravity."

Akane looked impressed by his way of analysing. So that was why he had insisted that she wore a skirt.

"That's good but you can't learn ice-skating by just watching," smiled Akane.

"I had a suspicion," said Jotaro idly. "But I didn't know for sure. So what's first?"

"Learning to stand still on the ice comes first," replied Akane happily.

Akane then taught Jotaro how to stand on the ice. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. Then she learnt how to skate straight and how to stop. She was then taught how to turn, how to circle and was starting to learn how to skate backwards when two people came and Akane's demeanour changed completely. Jotaro noticed this.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What did those two do to you?"

"They are Asuza Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin, the so called Golden Pair," growled Akane.

"You seem strangely angry at them," noted Jotaro, "even though they challenged you for your pig."

"Not at them," she hissed, "at _him_! He's a pervert!"

"Nearly every guy is a pervert to you," replied Jotaro. "I don't see what makes this guy so special that he deserves the full brunt of your anger."

"Well, he tried to kiss me!" Akane shot back simmering. Jotaro paused for a second.

"Okay, you have some reason to be angry at him," conceded Jotaro.

"And he said I would be the thousandth girl he would have kissed," added Akane enraged.

"I stand corrected, you have a very valid reason to be enraged at him," stated Jotaro.

"Don't I know it!" she sighed. She then looked sadistically happy. "I managed to stop him, however."

"How?" asked Jotaro interested.

"I kneed him in the groin," she answered gleefully. "Didn't he look surprised!"

Jotaro eyed her critically for one minute, which made Akane flinch under her gaze, before she smiled.

"There's definitely hope for you," she noted. She then noticed a hundred bulky ice-skaters coming on the skating-rink. The ice-skaters regrouped before a whistle was heard and they made a beeline to the Golden Pair.

What followed lasted nine seconds and a tenth. It was a slaughter.

During this time, the Golden Pair whirled around the other ice-skaters. They obviously tried to hit the Golden Pair but none of them ever managed. The couple mercilessly decimated them. Sometimes it was Asuza hitting them with her skates, other times it was Mikado. Sometimes they even whirled together. The other ice-skaters fell by dozens at a time. When the carnage was done, the referee announced the time and stated that it was a new record.

Akane eyed the scene warily. She wondered what the hell she had agreed to. They were going to get slaughtered. She turned to Jotaro to excuse herself for dragging her into such a costly fight. Before she could even speak, she noticed the analytic glint in Jotaro's eyes and her satisfied smile.

"They're toast," said Jotaro casually.

"Uh? What do you mean?" asked Akane not understanding.

"We will most assuredly win against them," answered Jotaro simply.

"What do you mean?" asked Akane fearfully. "You saw what it is. It is a physical battle!"

"Exactly," replied Jotaro. "When I thought that this was just an ice-skating competition, I was way more reserved about our probabilities of victory since I didn't know how to skate. However, if it is martial ice-skating, as long as I know at least a little how to skate, then I won't loose easily. They'd have to be several times stronger than Ryoga to be a credible threat to me."

Akane closed her mouth. That made sense. Jotaro was the best fighter she knew around. The Golden Pair were only good on skates. As soon as you took away this advantage, Jotaro was more than a match for the two of them. Maybe they would win after all.

At that moment, Jotaro lost her balance as she was trying to skate again. She managed to regain it but it was a close thing.

Maybe not. She still had to teach to Jotaro how to skate properly.

At that moment, a shrill voice that Akane identified as Asuza's screamed: "Charlotte!" and the little skater pushed Jotaro out of the way. Akane noticed that Jotaro was sliding backwards and still had her balance. She thus focused on rescuing her pig from the kleptomaniac terror.

Meanwhile Jotaro was sliding backwards on the ice. She had help from Star Platinum to see behind her so she wasn't overly worried. She suddenly noticed Mikado coming towards her from behind. She realised that he didn't seem threatening and thus decided to let him act to see what he intended to do. She flayed wildly to attract more attention and sure enough Mikado caught her in his arms.

"Such a pretty girl as you should be careful," he said gallantly. "You don't seem to know how to skate very well."

"I'm still learning," replied Jotaro coldly while wondering how corny this guy could become.

"Still you could have gotten hurt if you had fallen," replied Mikado seemingly gently. "Allow me to prevent any pain that may come to you with a kiss." And he leaned to kiss her.

Jotaro immediately activated a Time Stop.

It wasn't that Jotaro was exactly against getting kissed in her girl form, even though it would have been her first kiss in this form. Hell, it would have been her first kiss since she took possession of Ranma's body. However, Jotaro had a few core principles that she didn't betray. One of them was that she never gave affection gestures unless they were meaningful. And there was scarcely anything as meaningless as a playboy wanting to score his thousandth kiss. Jotaro had only ever kissed voluntarily three women before. Her wife, her mother and her daughter. And only her wife had taken her lips. So she'd be damned if she let this less than stellar individual be her first kiss in this body.

She immediately got out of Mikado's grip and thought for a second to plan her revenge. She had decided to humiliate him in the Jotaro style. Humiliation was more a speciality of Giorno and Kishibe. They were extremely used to it and didn't fear to do whatever it took to shame their victims horrendously. However they always kept a playful air while doing so that gave the impression that they were just kidding, which was often the case. Jotaro was less versed in this fine art since she had less possibilities of doing so due to the fact that her powers weren't as versatile as Giorno's or Kishibe's. However, she never did it for kicks. She always kept her voice ice cold when she did so which left no doubt about the fact that she only did it to hurt her victims. She was that merciless.

Mikado Sanzenin had thought himself superior to her given his belief that she would let herself be kissed by him just for his personal pride. He wouldn't know what hit him.

Jotaro pulled down Mikado's pants and boxers and noticed that she had guessed right. She then released the Time Stop. Mikado seemed lost as he noticed that Jotaro wasn't in his arms any more, then he felt the chill in his lower regions and noticed with horror that his pants and boxers were on his knees. He turned his head frantically around and noticed that everybody had grown silent, even Asuza, and was watching the scene with interest.

Jotaro eyed his groin totally unimpressed.

"I didn't think you would be that shrivelled and tiny," she said casually in the deafening silence. "I can understand why you kiss every pretty girl you see. You can't do much more. It has become a way for you to prove your manliness. How pathetic, really..."

Everybody remained silent for a few seconds. Then snickers were heard throughout the whole skating-rink before they evolved into full-blown laughters. Mikado was frozen stiff. Twenty seconds later he regained some of his mental faculties and put his boxers and pants back up. Akane noticed how casually Jotaro had destroyed Mikado's carefully built playboy persona and was instantly impressed. She became glad that she was on good terms with Jotaro and hoped that Nabiki wouldn't push her over the edge, otherwise being hurt would be the least of her problems.

Mikado had just finished putting his pants back on when Jotaro decided to dispatch him for good.

"I got it!" she shouted so as to be heard by everyone. "You kiss so many women in order to hide the fact that you are not even attracted to them. You shouldn't hide the fact that you are gay, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

It has to be noted that Jotaro had absolutely nothing against gays. Some of her former friends were ones after all, and she held nothing but deep respect for them (as well as a healthy dose of annoyance, but everyone subjected to Hayato Kawajiri's, Rohan Kishibe's or Giorno Giovana's brand of humour would understand that). However, she knew that unfortunately most people didn't share her views on homosexual people. Most males actually consider being called gay the worst insult to their manliness that exists. It was a sad fact of life that Jotaro had decided to use, even though it might get her the hostility of all the true homosexuals listening to her, but Jotaro didn't exactly care about what most people thought of her so she didn't bother. Given how Mikado's gaze had suddenly turned murderous, she thought that she had struck gold.

Mikado eyed her hatefully. This girl had exposed him in a manner he never wanted and had accused him of being gay. His playboy days were now over. He liked acting as a playboy, it gave him some power over women, who he was sure would reject him once they knew of his shameful secret. Now he wouldn't taste this power for a long time and not in the vicinity of Nerima. This girl had to pay. He started to circle her at great speed.

"I'll make you pay for that!" he hissed murderously. "You'll suffer from my deadliest attack: the Ghost's Dance!" And he started to pummel Jotaro with fast strikes from his fists and ice-skates.

Unfortunately for him, Jotaro was faster.

Jotaro stopped each and every of Mikado's strike. She was moving so fast that only Akane could keep up with her speed. What she didn't know was that it was far from Jotaro's maximum speed. Akane also noticed that Jotaro was periodically striking her fingers all over Mikado's body. Then, twelve seconds after the beginning of the attack, Mikado stopped moving and went adrift on the ice. He then toppled while remaining in his stiff position, an incredulous look etched on his face. Then his clothes fell into pieces and he was naked

"What have you done to me?" he howled.

"I simply locked all of your muscles thanks to shiatsu point," explained Jotaro. "As for your clothes... Well, consider it a punishment for not knowing when you were beaten. I'll be going now. You should regain your mobility in an hour. I believe that you should train for the match otherwise my brother is going to trounce you."

And with that she went of the skating-rink. She was then joined by Akane.

"What you did was downright cruel," stated Akane. "But somehow I can't help but feel that he deserved it."

"Glad you approve," said Jotaro dismissively.

"My opinion doesn't hold much power over you, does it?" asked Akane while sighing.

"Your opinion matters about as much as about anyone's, that is to say not much," explained Jotaro. "The only difference between you and most of the people I know is that I'll take much more effort to justify myself to you, although it seems you don't require too much justification."

"How right you are," muttered Akane.

They started to make their exit. At that moment, Asuza fled towards the skating-rink, forgetting to pick up P-Chan, which Akane took while she wasn't looking.

"Charles-Edouard!" screamed Asuza happily. "Come to Mommy!"

"GYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" shrieked Mikado like a little girl. "Leave it alone, you psycho!"

Akane's eyes went wide as she thought about the scene she had just heard.

"What has happened?" she asked aloud. She started to turn around to see but was stopped by Jotaro who had witnessed the scene thanks to Star Platinum.

"Trust me," she said, "you don't want to know."

* * *

Jotaro spent several of his nights at the skating-rink. He knew how to fight, that was true. And as long as he went close enough to the Golden Pair he would beat them. He didn't even need to come too close, they were many ways he could strike them with Star Platinum without getting caught (the Time Stop was most useful in this aspect). However, training on ice-skates was teaching him how to balance himself on slippery surfaces. It was a useful skill to have in his mind since it developed his balance. It would also help him on any moving surface, like a train for example. He seemed to be dancing in the moonlight.

And so, Jotaro trained. He brought Akane there to train after school in order to decide the moves they would use but he still trained alone most of the times. During all this week, Mikado was never seen.

* * *

The day of the ice-skating match had come. Jotaro was in the male locker room in his male form (it might have been awkward otherwise) getting ready for the match. He had spent the day before in his female form, so he didn't have problems this day. He was wearing a decorated outfit over which he was wearing his trademark trenchcoat and his cap. He was so accustomed to fighting with them that he didn't want to take them off.

At that moment, Mikado entered the room. He looked furious. Jotaro could understand why. The rumours about his lack of virility had spread extremely fast. He almost hadn't come to the match but Asuza had pestered him too much and he wanted her to stop appropriating his manhood (her habit to put ribbons on everything was extremely painful in this regard).

"You!" he snarled. "You are this demonic girl's brother!"

"Nice to see you too, Almost Dickless," said Jotaro drolly.

"Almost Dickless?" asked Mikado almost apoplectic.

"It's the nickname my sister has given to you," replied Jotaro matter-of-factly. "From what I gathered it suits you, really."

Mikado seethed for a moment before he smiled sinisterly.

"No, matter," he said ominously. "If I can't get revenge on your sister, I'll enact it on you. Not only will I destroy you at the match, but I will catch the lips of your girlfriend."

Jotaro stopped, honestly puzzled.

"Girlfriend?" he asked. "What girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend."

"Don't bother to lie," said Mikado haughtily. "No mere friend would dare defy the Golden Pair. You obviously want to help your girlfriend. But all of your goodwill is for naught since I shall break your couple." He then went out laughing creepily.

Jotaro blinked once, then he paused and blinked once more. Finally he shook his head and went out of the locker room to join Akane.

"I think you've got a problem," stated Jotaro as he rejoined her.

"What kind of problem?" she asked warily.

"Almost Dickless promised to kiss my girlfriend, and I think he intends to do his best to go through it," he explained succinctly. Akane blinked.

"Almost Dickless?" she asked wonderingly. "Who's that?"

"Who do you think?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

"Mikado? Why would it be my problem if he targets your girlfriend?" she asked dismissively. She then paused to think and asked more pointedly: "Wait. Since when do you have a girlfriend?"

"That's the problem," replied Jotaro. "I don't have one. So he decided that you were my girlfriend and wants to kiss you."

Akane stopped thunderstruck. She then started to sputter in disgust.

"Ewww! Me as your girlfriend! No way! You're way too much of a bastard," she said repulsed.

"I'm a bastard, aren't I?" said Jotaro. "Why do you bother to stick with me, then?"

"Well, as much a bastard as you are, you're brutally honest about it, so it doesn't bother me that much. However, I don't want to be your girlfriend. You're too far from my ideal of a man," explained Akane.

"I honestly thought that you would be more disturbed about the fact that Almost Dickless wants to kiss you," retorted Jotaro.

Akane's face suddenly fell.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" she whimpered. "I hadn't thought of that! What am I going to do?"

"Defend yourself," replied Jotaro as if it was obvious, which to him it was.

"That's it? You're not going to help me?" asked Akane pleadingly.

"Why should I?" he replied emotionless. "You're a big girl, you know how to defend yourself. And you learnt dirty tricks. Use them. I don't need to help you. Besides, I have no interest in protecting your lips. It's your fight. Now you have a good reason to be cruel to him."

Akane started to object, then she thought about it and snapped it shut. Jotaro was treating her like an independent person who didn't need to be protected, exactly what she had always wanted. Besides, he was giving her an opportunity she had yet to have: the possibility to really hurt someone who deserved it. It was a dark part of her mind that she had never dared to completely acknowledge but that wanted out. She had a sinking suspicion that Jotaro knew it and was helping her getting an outlet for her violent tendencies without judging her. For that she was grateful.

They entered the skating-rink. Jotaro didn't seem very sure of himself on his skates but Akane knew it was all an act. He wanted to be underestimated. He then would hit the Golden Pair hard. Akane could understand the reasoning. Besides, she knew that Jotaro didn't care about what people thought about him, he would thus do what pleased him even though it got him badly considered by others.

The Golden Pair then entered in a flourish. Most of the public applauded them since they were from their high school, Kolkhoze High, although they weren't exactly honest about it since the Golden Pair was grating on many nerves. The Pair looked haughtily at Jotaro and Akane.

"_Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the ice-skating match of the year. On my right, the infamous Golden Pair, the undisputed champions of ice-skating, from Kolkhoze High, Asuza Shiratori and Mikado Sanzenin,_" shouted the proctor.

The crowd prepared to applaud but Jotaro bet them to it.

"Also known as Almost Dickless!" his voice boomed in a deafening silence.

The crowd went dead quiet. Then snickers were heard before nearly the whole crowd laughed heartily. Mikado went red with fury at that. He eyed Jotaro murderously.

"I'm going to make you pay for that," he snarled. Jotaro looked unimpressed.

"The last time you said something like that you ended up naked on the rink displaying exactly why you are nicknamed Almost Dickless," warned Jotaro. "I wouldn't want a repeat of it if I were you."

While Mikado seethed, Asuza pointed her finger at Akane.

"I have to warn you, we will win and when we do Charlotte will finally be mine," she stated.

She then pointed at the proctor where a cup was. Chained to the cup with a collar with a heart inscribed with the name Charlotte was P-Chan. The piglet looked horrendously distraught. Akane saw it and her eyes widened.

"P-Chan!" she shouted. "How did he get there?"

"Probably stolen by Asuza," explained Jotaro. "That or he got lost and she found him. Neither would surprise me."

"_On my left, a strange couple that has unknowingly decided to defy our champions, Jotaro Kujo and Akane Tendo,_" detailed the proctor, clearly biased.

Mikado regained his bearings and executed a stunt on the ice, clearly contrasting with Jotaro who seemed to be barely standing on the ice. He then pointed at Jotaro.

"Mark my words," he said haughtily. "I will kiss your girlfriend."

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!" roared Akane angrily.

"What she said," said Jotaro more sedately.

"_After this proclamation, let the match begin!_" shouted the proctor.

The Golden Pair instantaneously moved. They started to circle Jotaro and Akane. Akane tried to hit Asuza but missed. Asuza took profit of that and redirected Akane into Mikado who grabbed her so she couldn't use her arms and legs as he had her arms pinned with his and her legs entangled with his. He eyed Jotaro with a smirk of victory.

"It seems that I win," he gloated.

"You won't touch her," replied Jotaro emotionless.

"You're not here to stop me and Asuza will prevent you from coming," stated Mikado. "I'm claiming her lips."

"She's not my girlfriend," replied Jotaro. "And it isn't me you should worry about. Akane knows how to use her head."

Meanwhile, Akane was swearing. She was in Mikado's arms and she couldn't move her limbs. She wanted to knee him in the balls so much. She then heard Jotaro's declaration and noticed the way he insisted on his last sentence. And she understood.

She then waited with a sneer of disgust while Mikado's lips closed on her. When he was close enough she struck.

Her head reared back before ramming into Mikado's nose at great speed. Akane heard a satisfying crunch and a scream of pain. Mikado didn't release her arms but he shifted his legs enough for her to liberate hers. It was all she needed. She propelled her knee at high speed in his groin. Mikado let a strangled cry of primal pain and released her arms to clutch his genitalia. Akane took profit of it and sent an uppercut in his chin that threw him several metres away.

Meanwhile, Asuza decided that it was as good a time as any to attack Jotaro while he was focused on Mikado and Akane. She rushed at Jotaro, intent on stealing his cap. Marie-Antoinette had a nice ring to it, it would make a wonderful name.

She never reached her goal. Jotaro suddenly whirled around with his foot raised and slashed at her several times. Asuza felt a foot bury itself in her belly but without cutting her, which was strange since Jotaro had ice-skates. Too bad for her that she couldn't see Star Platinum. She flew away and landed heavily on the ice, her breath blocked in her throat and took a few seconds to regain her breath as well as to dissipate the black spots in her vision. She then noticed the trail of hair coming to her and touch her own. She couldn't feel it. With his fast slashes Jotaro had cut almost all of it, leaving her with just a crew cut. Asuza wailed in anguish. She had been very proud of her air and took a long time to have it done every morning. Now all her efforts were for naught.

She noticed Jotaro rejoining Akane and watched them execute an acrobatic stunt mockingly. Fury swelled inside her. She skated to Mikado, where said playboy was painfully getting on his feet.

"Mikey! The Couple Cleaver! NOW!" she roared. Mikado nodded despite the pain.

He then put Asuza's feet on his shoulders and she quickly grabbed Jotaro by his ankles. The couple then started to rotate, elevating Jotaro above Asuza's head and making him spin, his whole body horizontal.

"We've got you, now!" gloated Mikado. "We'll make the attack last as long as we need. And there will be a time when you can't hold on to your girlfriend and will release her, letting her smash painfully on the rink, which will break her love for you. That's why this attack is called the Couple Cleaver! Mwahahahahahah!"

"Reminds me of a merry-go-round," said Jotaro boringly. "And I thought I told you before, Akane isn't my girlfriend."

Mikado noticed something wrong with his voice, he wasn't panicked. Come to think of it, the couple was too light. At that moment he noticed Akane on the skating-rink eyeing them with flabbergasted eyes. He looked up and saw Jotaro alone up there, standing horizontally as if nothing was wrong, his trenchcoat billowing due to the rotation and his cap sticking to his head... God knows how. Jotaro eyed him totally unimpressed.

"Your attack has an obvious fault," he noted. "If the duo isn't holding hand when you start it, it is useless and not worth its name."

Jotaro had done research on the Golden Pair's attack and told Akane about them, as well as the counters that could be applied. When the couple had went into position for the Couple Cleaver, Akane had skated away while Jotaro had let himself be caught just to spite them.

"I'm not feeling all that well," said Asuza with her eyes swirling. "I'm going to throw up."

And she released Jotaro's ankles. Jotaro flew at high speed face first towards a wall. The whole crowd and Akane sucked in a deep breath, waiting for him to be crushed by the wall, while Mikado watched in glee. He would be disappointed.

While flying, Jotaro summoned Star Platinum and waited until he was close enough to the wall. Then the Stand went wild.

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORAAAAAH!"

The wall broke into pieces under the onslaught of Jotaro's and Star Platinum's fists. The crowd watched flummoxed as Jotaro went beyond the wall of the skating-rink, then plunged his skates into the ground and stopped that way, leaving two seven-metres long trenches on the ground. He then walked slowly to the skating-rink and then skated to Akane as if nothing was wrong and as if he hadn't performed a superhuman feat.

"Your ace in the hole failed," he said to the Golden Pair dismissively. "What will you do now?"

At that moment, the lights of the skating-rink went out.

It had taken him time but Ryoga had eventually managed to escape the chain. He still had a ridiculous collar around his neck but he had other problems now. He had just turned back to his human form and found some clothes and was deciding his next course of action. He couldn't let Jotaro look good in front of Akane. He himself wanted to seduce her since she was the only person who had ever been nice to him. Granted it was in his pig form, but still. Since he had cut her hair, he had to redeem himself in her eyes. He then had a stroke of genius.

He cut the light and went to the skating-rink. He then sent a bucket of water where he remembered Jotaro was. After that, he jumped on the skating-rink and bumped Jotaro out of the way. He finally grabbed Akane's hand. Then the light came back and he was ready to skate with Akane. His legs were trembling with excitement at the prospect. Or may be it was because he barely knew how to skate and wasn't very stable.

"What are you doing, Ryoga?" asked a voice at his side.

Elated, Ryoga turned to respond...

And came face to face with Jotaro in her female form. He let a strangled cry.

"Where is Akane?" he asked Jotaro imperiously.

"When the light was out, I sensed water coming at us," explained Jotaro. "I thus pushed her other there," she pointed to an interrogative Akane who was standing away from them, "before I was drenched. You then took my hand and the lights came back. What I want to know is why you did it."

"Damn you Jotaro Kujo!" said Ryoga smouldering in anger. "This is all your fault!"

Before Ryoga could detail why exactly the resulting situation was of Jotaro's doing, the proctor intervened.

"_What happened Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a situation on our hands, the couple opposing the Golden Pair with brio has changed! Will you allow it?_" bellowed the proctor.

The public went wild with approbation, making the proctor concede.

"_This new couple will thus continue the match,_ he said. "_However, we can't let them do it in such outfits. Let's get them changed!_"

Suddenly, people grabbed Jotaro and Ryoga and put them into potable changing rooms. Two girls took Jotaro's clothes of and put her in a pink and blue leotard. They were about to go away with Jotaro's clothes but she stopped them. She took her ice-skating clothes and put them... somewhere. She then put back her trenchcoat and cap on and buttoned the two buttons over her breast so as to hide them, since the girls hadn't let her put on a bra.

"You can't keep the trenchcoat and the cap on," said one of the girls.

Jotaro eyed her intently, making her flinch, then pierced the cabin with her fist.

"You were saying?" she asked. The girls flinched.

"You... You can keep it," stammered the other girl.

"I thought so," commented Jotaro.

And with that, she went back on the skating-rink. Ryoga was already there and was wearing a black form-fitting outfit with yellow stripes. He eyed Jotaro with disgust.

"_Although the outfits aren't exactly conform, the match can resume,_" announced the proctor. "_Now this new couple has to defy our champions, which might be difficult given the tensions that there are within this new couple._"

Mikado eyed Jotaro hatefully and Ryoga haughtily.

"You, the new guy," he addressed to Ryoga. "Rest assured that I will defile your girlfriend's lips during this match."

Ryoga looked extremely disgusted at the idea. The crowd and the Golden Pair assumed that it was due to the idea of Mikado kissing Jotaro. They couldn't be further from the truth. Ryoga realised this and decided to dissipate the misconception.

"She's not my girlfriend!" he roared. "Do what you want with her, I don't care. You can rape her for all I care!"

Mikado and the crowd were a bit startled at that proclamation. Akane looked at Ryoga with disgust in her eyes. Jotaro had told her that he wanted to redeem himself to her but so far he was doing the exact opposite. She wondered how Jotaro would react to such a horrible statement.

"Don't be stupid Ryoga," Jotaro shot back patronizingly. "To rape someone efficiently you need a dick. It is well-known that Mikado is sorely lacking in this aspect. I don't think he would manage even if I let him, and you saw how I deal with people like him."

_'I shouldn't have worried,'_ thought Akane with a smile. _'No insult ever fazes Jotaro and she has a comeback for everything. Trust her to divert the insult into humiliation.'_

Mikado snarled at the laughter that spread among the public and skated towards Jotaro.

"I got him," she told Ryoga. "Try to take on Asuza, if you can skate, that is."

Ryoga growled at her and skated towards Asuza, wanting nothing more than see Jotaro be humiliated by Mikado. At least he tried to. He managed to perform six steps before he fell on the ice and gilded to Asuza, who eyed him curiously. She then saw the collar around Ryoga's neck.

"Charlotte!" she screamed astonished. "You're Charlotte!"

Ryoga froze on the spot, apparently trying to become one with the ice under him.

"Wha-What! O-Of course not," he stammered.

"You lie!" shrieked the kleptomaniac girl. "You have Charlotte's collar around your neck."

Ryoga was sweating. He was looking at Akane praying to the gods that she didn't realise that he was P-Chan. She would probably hate him more than she did now. He had after all slept with her in her bed in his pig form.

"How did you manage to get P-Chan's collar on you, Ryoga? Are you stupid?" she said to a heartbroken Ryoga. "Although I'm grateful you freed P-Chan, you look pretty stupid with this collar on."

Ryoga addressed a prayer to whoever might receive it. He was ready to become a worshipper.

"Charlotte!" shrieked Asuza while she took the collar and tried to remove it from Ryoga's neck by taking his head off. "Come to Mommy!"

Now, if only he could get rid of this pest...

Meanwhile, Jotaro was observing the scene with wonder. She was a bit startled by the strange game Akane played with Ryoga. Either Akane had a twisted mind or she liked to act with the complicity of Ryoga. Or she didn't know that Ryoga was P-Chan but such a thought was preposterous to Jotaro.

"I got you now!" yelled Mikado triumphantly while he immobilised Jotaro's limbs from behind. "I will finally get your lips now." And he leant for a kiss, mindful of the fact that Jotaro couldn't headbutt him.

What he didn't know was that Jotaro had been waiting for this.

"Star Platinum: Time Stop," she muttered. And the world went still.

Jotaro quickly had Star Platinum shattered both of Mikado's hands with its fists. She then removed herself from his grasp and slithered away from his legs. She then looked at him with contempt for two full seconds before timing her next strike. The Time Stop fulfilled its course.

The spectators didn't understand what they saw. Even Akane couldn't fathom what happened, but at she had an idea. Jotaro had just been too fast for the human eye to follow. It seemed to everybody that Jotaro had exploded into Mikado's arms and had attacked him several times with all of her limbs if the blurs around her form were of any indication.

As soon as time resumed, Jotaro twirled on herself at fast speed and brought her left leg up. The ice-skate started to cut Mikado in several parts of his body. Jotaro made twelve turns in half of a second, then finished by slashing vertically with her other leg. She had been so fast that the cuts she had made hadn't started to appear on Mikado's body yet. She then finished by pummelling him forty-seven times with her fists. Mikado felt himself flying under the strength behind the punches. Then the pain of the slashes registered as the cuts opened and blood flew out of his body while his clothes fell in tatters and he screamed in pain. After that, the pain and damage from the fists registered too and he fell unconscious while still flying and screaming. He crashed into the wall of the skating-rink and fell still unconscious and broken on the ice, leaving a bloody print on the wall.

The whole crowd gasped, Akane did as well. That had been downright brutal.

"_And Mikado Sanzenin is unable to continue the match,_" stated the proctor. "_It seems that the mysterious couple won the match!_" At that the crowd went wild. The Golden Pair had finally been defeated.

Ryoga looked at Jotaro simmering in anger. She had stolen all of his spotlight. He hadn't been able to do anything to Asuza or contribute to the match in a significant fashion. All because he couldn't skate. He certainly hadn't been able to impress Akane.

"Dammit!" he shouted. "If only there wasn't ice!" And he punched the skating-rink.

At that moment, the whole ice shattered and water sprung from the cracks, almost drenching Ryoga. Chunks of ice started to move, one of them even sprung under the strain and smashed Asuza in the nose. She fell on the ice unconscious. The chunks of ice revealed water under them, forming icebergs.

"Wha-What happened?" said Ryoga panicked. Should water touch him, he would change into his pig form in front of everybody and, the worst of it, in front of Akane, who wouldn't ever forgive him.

"_It seems that the new champions revealed that our skating-rink is in fact a partially frozen pool,_" announced the proctor.

"COULDN'T YOU TELL THAT SOONER?" shouted Ryoga anguished.

The icebergs moved, making the water slosh. Ryoga started to dodge frantically, trying to remain standing on his skates with difficulties.

"That was really stupid of you," stated Jotaro from behind him. Ryoga turned his head and eyed her murderously.

"JOTARO KUJO!" he shouted. "THIS IS ALL YOR FAULT!"

He then started to throw chunks of ice at Jotaro who dodged them with ease. Jotaro then dashed just in front of Ryoga.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said threateningly. "You seem to have forgotten that contrary to you, I have nothing to fear from cold water."

She then punched the ice between Ryoga's feet. The iceberg they were on fractured and Ryoga found his feet between two icebergs that were slowly drifting away from one another. Jotaro had already left the icebergs.

"If you don't apologize, I'll let you fall in the water," warned Jotaro condescendingly.

Ryoga felt anger swell inside him at Jotaro's tone. He grabbed both of the icebergs, his fingers sinking into the ice. He then brought them back together by sheer strength, straining under the effort. He then got back on only one iceberg and eyed Jotaro murderously.

"You're going to pay for that, Jotaro," he snarled. He then grabbed another chunk of ice and prepared to throw it at Jotaro.

"WILL YOU STOP IT NOW!" shouted Akane suddenly.

Ryoga stopped his movement, startled. Jotaro remained impassible.

"But..." started Ryoga. "She deserves it."

"Of course she doesn't," Akane shot back. "She just won against Mikado and you started to pummel her with ice. And I thought you couldn't sink any lower. Seems that I was wrong."

"But... she tried to throw me into the water!" justified Ryoga.

"She was just defending herself," berated Akane. "You're just impulsive and irrational. Not everything that goes wrong in your life is Jotaro's fault."

Ryoga was struck by the fact that Akane obviously preferred Jotaro to him. It was all Jotaro's fault.

"JOTARO KUJO!" he shouted. "PREPARE TO DIE"

He then threw a chunk of ice at Jotaro. Jotaro dodged and the chunk hit the iceberg Akane was on, making it sink partially and making Akane fall in the water. Akane started to struggle in the water while Ryoga stopped and watched her.

"What is she doing?" he asked.

Jotaro turned towards her and immediately recognized her flailing for what it was.

"She doesn't know how to swim!" she shouted. And she jumped into the water, followed by Ryoga. Before she touched the water, she managed to turn to him.

"That was stupid of you given your curse," she said emotionless. "P-Chan."

Only then did Ryoga realise that he was jumping into water. He shrieked as the water engulfed him and turned him into his pig form.

* * *

Akane woke up in the infirmary of the skating-rink.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You don't remember?" answered Yuka. "You almost drowned and lost consciousness. Jotaro brought you back on earth."

Jotaro, still wet from the frozen water, was holding P-Chan in her hands. The pig had swirling eyes and several suspicious bumps on its head.

"Ryoga helped me get you back on the earth before he got lost," she said. She then threw P-Chan at a happy Akane.

At that moment, the wall of the infirmary crumbled, revealing a purple-haired girl with two buns in her long flowing hair and was wearing a pink Chinese shirt and pink kung-fu pants. She was holding two maces in her hands that Jotaro recognized as Chinese chuis. Her right leg was raised and it was obvious that she had kicked the wall to bring it down.

"Ranma," she said determined. "You I kill!"

"Xian-Pu," noted Jotaro as he recognized her. "How unfortunate. For you, that is."

The girl, whom all of the others thought to be called Shampoo, attacked Jotaro. Akane wondered who would be foolish enough to do that.

* * *

AN: No Jotaro doesn't know how to skate. But as I said before , he learns fast. Akane is becoming friendlier and friendlier to him but she still won't be a love interest. I have other plans for her. Jotaro's cynicism will eventually transmit to her. Next comes Shampoo. She won't know what hit her.


	7. The Siren

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

Warning: Some psychological violence ahead. Jotaro knows for a fact how to break people's will. You have been warned.

VI) The Siren

Jotaro watched the girl as she dashed towards her. She remembered who she was. A Chinese Amazon from Joketsuzoku. Ranma had met her in a village close to Jusenkyo called Nyuchiehzu were a tournament was taking place. Ranma's father in his panda form had eaten the buffet of food that was the prize for the winner. The said winner, Shampoo, had of course taken offence to that and had challenged Ranma. Ranma had beaten her by making her fall of the log that served as a battle arena, she still disliked hitting girls. Shampoo hadn't appreciated that and had kissed her on the cheek. The Jusenkyo guide who had accompanied Ranma and Genma had then taken them out of the village and explained the rule of the kiss, called the Kiss of Death. An Amazon who gave the Kiss of Death to another woman who had defeated her was to pursue her and kill her to restore her honour. Ranma had been pursued by Shampoo throughout China and had had the utmost difficulties to escape her. He hadn't seen her in Japan. That had become Jotaro's privilege. She now had to escape Shampoo.

At least that was what Ranma would have done. Jotaro was not opposed to striking women like Ranma was. Shampoo had expected her to flee again. How wrong she was.

As Shampoo prepared to strike Jotaro with one of her chuis, Jotaro countered. She sent a chair at high speed into said chui, making it fall from Shampoo's hand. Shampoo looked at her now empty hand dumbstruck, then looked at Jotaro. She noticed that said girl was not as flustered as she used to be. Her wardrobe had evolved too. She was now wearing a trenchcoat and a cap over her normal clothes. She noticed that Jotaro, whom she still thought of as Ranma, was eyeing her with contempt.

"_Sore loser,_" she said contemptuously in Chinese.

This incensed Shampoo. This girl was scorning her. Her fighter pride wouldn't take it. She readied the other chui. However, Jotaro was faster and struck her hand with a finger. Said hand went numb and she released the chui. She was awestruck that Jotaro knew shiatsu.

"_Do you yield?_" asked Jotaro threateningly. Shampoo was filled with anger. This outsider bimbo thought that she was better than her. She would show her!

Shampoo attacked Jotaro bare handed. She still had two legs and one arm fully functional. How could she lose?

Jotaro grabbed her good hand and dislocated her shoulder, making her cry in pain. She then sent one of her feet so fast in Shampoo's belly that the said girl didn't realise what had happened before she felt all the air in her lungs disappear and her breathing stop. She tried to see what had happened but Jotaro had been so fast that she didn't seem to have moved at all. Jotaro finally grabbed her face in her right palm, took her legs under her with her own and made her trip. She pushed Shampoo's head in the ground so strongly that said head became encased into the ground. Shampoo was knocked out due to the blow to her occiput.

Akane looked at the scene bewildered. She hadn't understood what Jotaro had said to the girl before he slaughtered her but it sounded Chinese.

"Who is this?" she asked still bewildered that such a violent girl was after Jotaro.

"This is a leftover from Genma's stupidity that has been plaguing Ranma and has now been transmitted to me. Her name is Xian-Pu but you can call her Shampoo," explained Jotaro. She then proceeded to detail why exactly Shampoo was pursuing her with the intent to kill. Akane digested the story for a moment.

"That's an extremely strange law," she finally said.

"Wrong," replied Jotaro. "It's a law for a people of sore losers extremely pernicious in its cowardice. You make a young woman think that she can't regain her honour or that of her tribe if she can't kill someone who has already bested her. In effect, the Amazon is exiled until she can prove that she has killed her opponent. But if the said opponent has already bested her, chances are that she will do it again. It's a vicious circle that will end most probably with the death of the Amazon, her opponent becoming tired of a relentless enemy that wants to kill her. So in effect it's a death sentence hidden behind warrior's honour."

Akane looked horrified.

"I understand more and more your scathing views on honour," she said disgusted. "Wait... You're not going to kill her, are you?"

"Not unless she pisses me off too much," replied Jotaro, which didn't reassure Akane that much. "Let's bring her at Tofu's practise for now." It reassured Akane this time.

With Akane's help, Jotaro brought the still unconscious girl to Tofu. The man came from his office when he heard the bell.

"What happened to her?" he asked. Jotaro told him the whole story.

"I don't really know what to say," he sighed. "I'm always about to tell you to stop resorting to violence but it doesn't seem that you were left much choice."

"Contrary to a popular belief," replied Jotaro, "violence isn't my favourite means of solving complicated situation, it's just the one I have to use the most."

Jotaro then went to change into her male form while the Doctor treated Shampoo under Akane's watchful eye.

"She might have a slight headache from the blow to her head and some bruises on her belly but otherwise she will be fine as soon as she wakes up," detailed Tofu. "Add in to that the fact that he just dislocated a shoulder and used shiatsu to numb her hand and all in all I would say that Jotaro was very restrained."

"Of course I was," said a now male Jotaro. "Who do you think I am?"

"You destroyed her in a matter of seconds," countered Akane. "I hardly call that 'restrained', not to mention the fact that it seemed very painful."

"I made it painful to teach her a lesson," replied Jotaro. "I could have submitted her with shiatsu points but then she would have thought that she lost by a fluke and she would come at me again. With the way I trounced her, she will at the very least be cautious when facing me. And if you think I was cruel, keep in mind that I could have disabled her, permanently."

Akane gulped. At that moment, Shampoo came back to her senses. She was disorientated for a few minutes before her eyes focused.

"Where I?" she asked in broken Japanese.

"You are in my office," answered Tofu while he came into her field of vision. "Jotaro and Akane here," he pointed at them, "brought you here. You have had a shoulder dislocation and some bruising on your belly, as well as a nasty bump on the back of your head."

Shampoo digested this, then she jumped out of bed and threatened Akane with a chui she took from her bedside.

"Where Ranma?" she asked imperiously.

"I don't know," replied Akane annoyed.

"You lie!" hissed Shampoo.

"It's true," replied Akane hotly. "The girl you attacked is called Jotaro Kujo, like her brother here," she added pointing at Jotaro. "And let me tell you, he isn't exactly happy that you attacked his sister."

Shampoo seemed to think on it for a second, then turned threateningly towards Jotaro.

"Where your sister?" she asked threateningly to Jotaro.

"_Why would I tell you?_" replied Jotaro disdainfully in Chinese. "_You are nothing but a sore loser who got roped by her peers into hunting my sister. Why would I help you kill her?_"

Shampoo snarled and struck Jotaro with her chui by bringing it down. Jotaro struck the handle at high speed with a knife-hand. The handle was cut cleanly under Shampoo's surprised eyes and the heavy end of the chui flew in the air and landed heavily on Shampoo's head, knocking her down. Jotaro eyed her contemptuously. Akane seemed to realise something.

"Wait..." she said slowly. "If you beat her in your male form, then she will give you another Kiss of Death!"

"Let her do so," replied Jotaro without much apparent interest. "I will take her down the same way I intend to do it in my girl form." To Akane and Tofu, who knew him somewhat better than other people, he seemed almost feral.

Shampoo came to her senses in less than a minute then eyed Jotaro, who was waiting indifferently. He let his left cheek in her direction. Shampoo didn't hesitate and jumped at him as Jotaro expected. What he didn't expect was when Shampoo turned his head and mashed her lips against his.

"Wo ai ni, Airen," she purred.

'_I love you? What the hell?'_ thought Jotaro. He immediately grabbed her by her neck.

"_What do you mean with that? Why did you kiss me?_" he hissed dangerously. Shampoo started to choke, her eyes filling with fear. She hadn't expected such open hostility.

"_TELL ME!_" he said quietly but with so much emphasis that he might as well have yelled. Shampoo took a book with a trembling hand from her shirt. It was _The book of Amazon Laws_. Jotaro took it and threw Shampoo heavily on the ground before perusing the book while Shampoo massaged her sore throat. Akane and Tofu looked at him a bit surprised. They had never seen him that angry, and it seemed to be because the girl had kissed him. Jotaro opened each of the pages for a second, allowing his eidetic memory to act and help him remember each page with clarity. He then threw the book on Shampoo.

"_If you expect me to follow your laws, then you are sorely mistaken,_" he said acidly to a shell-shocked Shampoo, who didn't seem to understand how this male would disregard her laws like that.

"What's the matter?" asked Akane cautiously.

"The rule concerning an Amazon's defeat differs with the sex of the vanquisher," explained Jotaro. "If it's a woman, then she receives the Kiss of Death. If it's a man, however, he receives the Kiss of Marriage and is to marry said Amazon."

"Wow," managed to say Akane. "It's harsh."

"It's another rule for sore looser, especially given the way males are treated in Amazon society. They are considered as slaves and sperm reserves and nothing else. Even worse than the way women were treated in feudal Japan. Given that the groom is supposed to come with his bride back to the Amazons' village, it is worse than a death sentence."

"Are you sure you are angry just because of that?" asked Tofu as if walking on egg shells.

"Hell no!" replied Jotaro. "I'm just disgusted at their society. What incensed me is that she kissed me. Kissing is a mark of affection and I only give them to people whom I feel worthy or whom I love. She took it from me and I certainly don't love her, nor do I feel her worthy of it. It enraged me."

Akane was speechless. She hadn't expected Jotaro to be that romantic, even if it was a special kind of romanticism. He had some principles after all. Any normal guy would have been happy to have been kissed by such beautiful girl (she had to admit grudgingly that the girl was more beautiful than she was). Jotaro didn't, obviously not caring about physical appearances, and for that Akane's respect for him went higher.

Shampoo looked at him thunderstruck. This guy was resisting her charm and, more importantly, her physical prowess. This wouldn't do. She would probably fail at beating him but she could seduce him.

"Airen," she purred. "You no like Shampoo?"

"I absolutely loath you, you unforgivable bitch," growled Jotaro. "If you think that by whoring yourself you will get me to love you, you will be disappointed."

Shampoo was surprised by such hostility. Then she steeled herself and grabbed Jotaro's arm, putting it between her breast. Nobody could resist such a supple body, or so she thought. Jotaro saw red and took his arm away and punched her ten times in the face, breaking her nose, splitting her lips and blackening her eyes. Shampoo reeled back in surprise and pain. How could this guy resist her charms and how could he hit such a lovely girl? She unfortunately didn't know that Jotaro didn't believe in gentlemanliness.

"Next time I won't be as merciful," said Jotaro murderously. He then went out of Tofu's practise.

Tofu looked at the girl with pity.

"You should leave him alone," he said to her. "You have angered the most dangerous man in Japan. He won't hesitate to kill you."

The girl flinched.

"Shampoo has to marry him," she said sullenly. "Is matter of honour."

"Jotaro doesn't care about honour," replied Akane. "Besides, what you think of as a matter of honour is just a disguised way of getting you killed or definitely exiled."

Shampoo's head snapped up.

"What blue-head girl mean?" she asked sharply.

Akane told her about Jotaro's reasoning.

"Is lie!" seethed Shampoo. "Blue-head girl lie!"

"It's what Jotaro thinks at least, so you'd better not try to appeal to his sense of honour," explained Akane neutrally. "If you're trying to win his heart, then you're fighting a loosing battle."

"Shampoo still try," said Shampoo obstinately. And she also went out, with her broken face.

"Why do I have a feeling that it won't end well for her?" mused Tofu aloud.

"Because for all his good points, Jotaro is a bastard, bitch, whatever," replied Akane. "And he has marked Shampoo as a enemy."

* * *

The next morning, Shampoo arrived in Akane's classroom through the wall with a covered dish, wearing more bandages than the day before and a cast on her left arm.

"Where Airen?" she asked Akane.

"Why are you more hurt than yesterday?" asked Akane back.

"Shampoo followed Airen's trail to his house but found only an old woman and girl Jotaro here, so Shampoo try to kill girl Jotaro," grimaced Shampoo. "Shampoo didn't manage, though is only a matter of time."

"You realise that if you kill his sister, Jotaro will kill you, right?" asked Akane pointedly.

"Shampoo finally make him see reason," she replied although she didn't seem all that confident. "Where Airen?"

"Come with me, I'll show you," sighed Akane. And she lead her to Jotaro's classroom.

Nabiki was meanwhile sweating, while the other students were watching Jotaro cautiously. For once, Jotaro wasn't reading. He seemed to be piercing the air with his gaze. His face was as emotionless as ever but since he wasn't reading everyone knew that something was wrong. Nabiki hoped that he wasn't angry at her, she wouldn't know before the last moment and by then it would be too late to escape him. Besides, where could she escape?

At that moment, Akane entered the classroom with Shampoo in tow. Jotaro's gaze hardened, although only Akane noticed it. Shampoo brought her plate on Jotaro's table.

"Airen!" she chirped happily.

"I'm not your husband," said Jotaro scathingly so that everyone heard. "Or have you forgotten how hard I hit you yesterday? Do you want to lose your teeth?"

Shampoo's smile faltered as everybody learnt that she had been hit by Jotaro, which kind of countered her status as his wife. She then plastered another one on her face, although it was strained.

"Shampoo prepare you special dish," she said before she opened the dish.

"P-CHAN!" shouted Akane, tears in her eyes. Indeed, Ryoga was on the plate unmoving. She took the piglet in her arms. "Why did you do it to him, you bitch?"

"What you call Shampoo?" growled Shampoo in response. Before they could fight, Jotaro interrupted them.

"I don't know how it works in your backward village," he said, "but I sure as hell don't eat animals alive."

At that moment, P-Chan woke up and let out a pitiful "bwee". Akane sighed in relief before she eyed Shampoo murderously. Before she could say anything though, Shampoo kissed her on her cheek. Akane gasped. The purple-haired bitch had given her the Kiss of Death. If if she wanted a fight, she had it coming.

"You! Me! Out! NOW!" she snarled and went out, followed by Shampoo. Jotaro waited a few seconds before following them.

"Where are you going Kujo?" asked the teacher in a commanding tone. Jotaro eyed him intently, making him flinch.

"Trying to prevent Akane from getting killed," he said laconically.

"All right, you may go," sighed the teacher. Jotaro nodded and left.

He arrived in a vacant lot where Akane and Shampoo were facing each other. P-Chan was observing from afar. Jotaro decided to remain hidden. Should there need, he could stop time to rescue Akane.

Akane and Shampoo eyed each other for another minute before Akane dashed to Shampoo, her fist reeled back to hit. Shampoo eyed her unimpressed and waited for her. What she hadn't expected was when Akane struck with her leg without warning. Shampoo blocked with her leg but barely. She started to re-evaluate her.

Akane then started to pummel her with her fists. Shampoo managed to block her but was obviously straining under Akane's strength. Akane then wheezed and tried to regain her breath. Shampoo released her guard. It was her downfall. Akane threw her head at her chin, striking her and making her fall.

Shampoo got back up and eyed Akane murderously. She then dashed at her and pressed a shiatsu point that paralysed her. She then took out a bottle of shampoo that she poured on Akane's hair. She then seemingly washed her hair during fifty six seconds and rinsed it but Jotaro had seen that she had activated no less than one hundred and seventy two shiatsu points. Jotaro had memorized them but didn't know what they did. Akane then fell on the ground unconscious. Shampoo eyed her scornfully and went away, probably searching for Jotaro.

Jotaro waited until Shampoo went away and collected Akane. He then went at Tofu's office.

* * *

"A shiatsu attack, you say?" asked Tofu.

"One hundred and seventy two points," replied Jotaro to Tofu's bewilderment. "She also used a shampoo."

"A shampoo you say?" said Tofu calculating. He then went into his office and brought back an ancient text.

"The Xi-Fa-Xiang-Gao shiatsu technique," he said awed, "I didn't think I would ever see it applied."

"What does it do?" asked Jotaro intently.

"Through shiatsu manipulation, it can create partial amnesia or even rewrite the mind of the victim," explained Tofu. "The fact that such a young girl knew how to perform it is impressive. The fact that you memorised the points in one view is awe-inspiring. It helps with the counter."

"There is a counter?" asked Jotaro in what would have been an eager tone had he been more expressive. "Does this text explain how?"

"You have to apply the exact opposite shiatsu points," detailed the Doctor. "Given that you have memorised them and knowing how skilled you are, I can tell that you won't have problems applying it. There is a catch, though."

"What is it?" asked Jotaro, fully focused on the explanation.

"You have to use another shampoo, labelled 119," answered Tofu. "Shampoo used the label 110 to alter Akane's mind. There is a recipe for it but..."

"But?" asked Jotaro intently.

"I don't understand the recipe," admitted Tofu. "There are translations but I don't know what 'essence of the white dragon' is. And that's the least mysterious of the ingredients. And it takes two weeks to brew."

Jotaro mulled on this for a minute.

"My best bet is to obtain it from Xian-Pu," concluded Jotaro. "I'll have to find her and take it from her because I'm pretty sure that she won't hand it willingly."

"I thought that too." added Tofu. "Before you go to find it, don't you want to know what exactly Shampoo modified in Akane's mind?"

Jotaro nodded and Tofu woke Akane up with a shiatsu point. Akane opened her eyes dreamily before she sat suddenly.

"Doctor Tofu!" she shouted. "I remember! I was fighting Shampoo and she paralysed me. After that she did something to me but I don't know what since I fainted. Come to think of it, how did I end up here?"

"Well, Jotaro brought you here," answered Tofu helpfully.

"Jotaro? Who is that?" asked Akane.

Both the doctor and Jotaro blinked and paused.

"That's what Xian-Pu did," noticed Jotaro. "She erased her memories of me."

"What's the use?" asked Tofu confused. "There's nothing between you besides friendship. How would making Akane forget you help Shampoo?"

"I don't know but she wouldn't be the first to mistake our friendship for love," answered Jotaro.

Akane turned her head towards Jotaro and scrunched her face.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Jotaro Kujo," replied Jotaro.

"Oh," said Akane and she put her face down. Her eyes glazed for a second. She then lifted her head and scrunched her face again. "Who are you?"

Jotaro eyed her for a second, then turned to Tofu.

"A self-sustaining amnesia," he concluded. "Impressive. I remember only one person who could do that and his way of doing it was way stranger."

"What do you mean?" asked Akane. "And who are you?"

"My name is Jotaro Kujo," answered Jotaro. "However, you can't recall it. Xian-Pu made it so that you forget me as soon as you don't see me. It's a form of mindrape and I can't forgive her for that. She's going to pay and I will counter this mindrape."

He then went out hunting for Shampoo. Akane looked at him before her eyes glazed again.

"Who was that?" she asked Tofu.

"Jotaro Kujo," he replied. "A bastard to most people but an invaluable friend. He is really outstanding."

"He seems so," said Akane, then her eyes glazed and she added: "I wish I could remember him."

* * *

Jotaro's hunt didn't last long. He found Shampoo near Mikoto's house.

"Airen!" she cried happily. She tried to jump in his arms but Jotaro avoided her. Shampoo frowned. She was getting fed up with Jotaro. He didn't want her and it was getting irritating. When would he recognize that he didn't have a choice?

"What did you do to Akane?" asked Jotaro threateningly.

"Well, that way you no have girlfriend when you have wife," replied Shampoo.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend," Jotaro shot back. "Undo it."

"Shampoo not do it," she answered in a singsong voice. "Unless Airen finally admit that I be wife."

"I'd sooner kill you," replied Jotaro. "And then I can easily grab the 119 formula."

Shampoo faltered, quite upset by Jotaro's vindictiveness. She then decided to put off Jotaro's seduction and to get him to do something for her. She put out the bottle of shampoo and put it between her breasts.

"If want it, then come take it," she said confidently.

Jotaro eyed her for five seconds. He then grabbed her arm and reached for the bottle. Shampoo cursed under her breath. Jotaro had no concept of feminine modesty. She decided to alter he plan a little.

"KYAAAAAAH!" she shouted. "HELP! RAPE!"

Jotaro stopped his movement but didn't take his hands back. Shampoo frowned.

"What do you want?" asked Jotaro pointedly. Shampoo thought about it. Jotaro would obviously refuse if she asked for his love or his hands in marriage. She then had an idea.

"I give you," she said. "But you kill girl Jotaro."

Jotaro sent her an unreadable gaze.

"If I understand correctly," he said cautiously. "You want me to kill my sister, my own flesh and blood, in exchange for this bottle."

"Yes," said Shampoo happily.

"I see," he simply said. Shampoo suddenly couldn't move. Jotaro removed his finger from the base of her neck.

"Normally this shiatsu point is never used since one false manipulation can lead to cardiac arrest," he explained to a fearful Shampoo. "However, you have pushed me over the edge. Not only are you bothering me non-stop for something I obviously don't want to give to you but you also mindraped Akane."

"Is no rape," tried to justify Shampoo. "Is just memory alteration."

"I don't cared how you call it," said Jotaro blandly but to Shampoo it almost sounded like a snarl. "You rewrote her memories. You altered her mind so that she instantly forgets all about me. You did it without her consent. To me this is mindrape. The only reason why I didn't kill you is because you hold the necessary item to counter it."

He then reached inside Shampoo's shirt and took the bottle of formula 119. He then considered her for a minute and started to undress her. It was a bit difficult because of the cast on her arm. Shampoo became more and more frantic as her clothes were taken from her.

"What you doing?" she asked clearly afraid. She had wanted to marry him but for all of her seducing tactics she was afraid of physical love, especially if she wasn't in control.

Jotaro, who had already taken off her pants and shirt, eyed her sharply.

"You don't respect local laws and people and you expect me to respect you and your laws?" he asked neutrally. "How hypocritical can you be?"

Shampoo understood at that instant part of what Jotaro was reproaching her. She wasn't reassured though. Jotaro had a valid reason to be angry at her, she realised it now. Jotaro started to search into her pants and shirt pockets and took several items, including the bottle of formula 110 and her herbal kit.

"What you doing?" she asked again.

"Given the problems you've caused me, I've decided to exact retribution! Taking your shampoos and herbs for study is just the beginning," said Jotaro ominously.

Shampoo became more and more scared. She became even more when Jotaro took off her underwear, leaving her naked under the moonlight.

"With your lascivious pose you look like a siren, trying to entice men to devour them," commented Jotaro. "It suits you really."

He then took a bottle from... somewhere and emptied it on her groin. Shampoo's nostril were immediately assaulted by a pungent smell. She started to cough.

"What this?" she asked between cough.

Jotaro hit a shiatsu point on her throat and Shampoo felt something constrict in her throat. She tried to ask what Jotaro did but realised with horror that no sound was coming from her mouth. She was now completely at Jotaro's mercy since she couldn't call for help. She reached new levels of dread as she realised it. Jotaro then spread her legs and her eyes started to tear up. He then let her like this, much to her confusion but it didn't diminish her fear. Jotaro might still have something planned for her.

"You thought I would rape you, didn't you?" asked Jotaro rhetorically. "Well, sorry to disappoint you but quite frankly I don't feel that you're worth it. That's not to say you won't be raped, it just means that I won't be the one doing it. People can find you there and there's little doubt that they are not the kind of people who would refuse such an offer. And even if no one comes, the substance I put on you is an aphrodisiac for dogs. It makes you smell like a bitch in heat. Since you've been so much of a bitch, I think that being raped like one is a fitting punishment."

And with that, Jotaro left her in the vacant lot.

Shampoo's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry in earnest. Jotaro had decided to get his revenge with the worst kind of offence. Her only chance to get out of this situation with her virtue intact was the improbable chance that someone would help her but she didn't have much hope.

While she cried, Shampoo cursed her stubbornness, her close-mindedness and the Amazonian laws. She prayed to the heavens that she could get out of this nightmare with all of her integrity.

Somebody seemed to hear her in heaven.

While she tried to move for the umpteenth time, her arm responded. Shampoo's spirit soared and she tried to move her other arm, the one with the cast. With some effort she managed to do so. A minute later, she managed to stand up. She was still weak from the shiatsu attack and from the intense fear and stress she had undergone, so she took quite a long time to put her clothes back on. She then decided that she would try to confront Jotaro one last time.

But first she would go back to her hotel room and take a shower to get rid of the smell. Now that she could move, she could defend herself against horny dogs but that didn't mean that she wanted them to chase her.

As Shampoo went away, Jotaro went out of the shadows from where he had been guarding her and went back at Mikoto's house where Akane and Tofu would be waiting for him.

* * *

"Who are you?" asked Akane to Jotaro. Mikoto eyed her with awe. She had heard of the explanation but had had difficulties in believing Tofu. Now that she saw the results she couldn't help but be impressed.

"Who am I doesn't matter," answered Jotaro. "What matters is that I'm going to counter the effect of Xian-Pu's attack. Come with me to the bathroom."

Akane eyed him cautiously then went with him, followed by Mikoto and Tofu.

"Could you show us how you do it?" asked Mikoto.

"It depends on how much of it you want to see," replied Jotaro. "I can activate the one hundred and seventy two points in eleven seconds. If you want to catch everything, however, I can spend one second per point."

"Please do so," asked Tofu. He was also curious about how the counter to the memory wipe was applied.

Akane sat on a stool and Jotaro put some of the formula 119 on his hands. He made it foam at started to press the shiatsu point in reverse. After one hundred and seventy two points, Akane took her head between her arms and gasped. She then turned to Jotaro.

"I remember now!" she exclaimed, her hair still wet. She then started to growl. "That bitch is going to pay for what she did!"

"Don't bother," replied Jotaro. "I already punished her, rather harshly I might add."

"What did you do?" asked Tofu almost afraid to ask. "Is there a broken body waiting for me at my practise?"

"Of course not," answered Jotaro. "Physical pain is almost nothing for an Amazon, they are trained to endure it. It should have been obvious given the way she still went after me despite the beatings I gave her. No, I did something much worse. I used psychological torture on her."

"I'm almost afraid to ask given how much of a bastard you are," said Akane stonily. "What did you do to her?"

"I left her naked and helpless in a vacant lot for five minutes while making her believe that she was about to be raped by stray dogs," explained Jotaro as if he were having some inane discussion.

The others gaped at him and were horrified at the level of cruelty he was able to display without emotion.

"That was downright cruel," commented Mikoto.

"She had it coming, though," countered Jotaro. "She mindraped Akane first, I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to mindfuck her in retaliation."

Jotaro was bringing up valid point, which was why the others came to a stop when they tried to criticize him. At that moment, the bell rang. The group went to open the door. Said door revealed a meek Shampoo when it was opened. Akane was about to attack her but was stopped by Jotaro. She was about to protest, then saw Shampoo's face and understood why Jotaro had stopped her. Shampoo looked utterly and completely defeated and humiliated.

"Shampoo come to say Shampoo sorry," she said softly with her head down. Akane's anger instantly evaporated. When she saw Jotaro, she cringed.

"If you're still worried about what I did to you, don't," he said irritated. "I was standing nearby to prevent people from coming. And the substance I put on you was actually dog repellent. The real dog aphrodisiac is here." he said while holding a vial. "The aim of my act was to scare you out of your mind and I dare say that it worked." Shampoo seemed relieved but refrained from jumping into Jotaro's arms this time, maybe because he was still holding the cursed vial.

"Well it seems that you can learn, that's good," said Jotaro idly while putting the vial back in Doorspace. Shampoo's eyes locked on him.

"You really no want become Shampoo's husband?" she asked with emotion.

"I told you," replied Jotaro flatly. "I'd sooner kill you than marry you."

Shampoo started to cry. The others eyed Jotaro reproachfully.

"What's the matter?" asked Jotaro scornfully. "You should have realised that according to your laws you were to be either exiled or killed by the one you kissed."

Shampoo stopped crying and eyed Jotaro confused. Jotaro sighed and explained his theory on both Kisses to Shampoo. Shampoo was of course horrified. She had always believed in the righteousness of Amazon law. She didn't want to believe in Jotaro's thesis but it made a horrible sense. She started to feel betrayed by her peers.

"So all in all, you'd better remain exiled," finished Jotaro. "You will most certainly live a better life than you would in your village."

Shampoo looked torn at the notion. She had lived all of her life in her village and feared leaving it for good. However, it could be the highlight of her life. She still wanted to confront her great-grandmother on these laws though. There was still one problem with that.

"_I will go back to my village, if only to confront the Elders on our laws,_" she said in Chinese to Jotaro. "_However, since I failed both in killing your sister and in marrying you, I will most certainly be killed before I can get out of there. If there was only one Kiss, I would just be exiled._"

"_That's unfortunate,_" replied Jotaro in Chinese. "_However, nothing but your honesty obliges you to divulge the fact that you gave me the Kiss of Death. Why you would follow such unfair laws is beyond me though. If you really want to tell them that without risking death, there's a loophole you can exploit._"

Shampoo's eyes opened wide. There was a way! Tofu's eyes widened as well. He understood Chinese and had deduced what Jotaro would reveal next.

"_Which loophole?_" asked Shampoo eagerly, while Tofu translated the dialogue for Akane and Mikoto.

"_Simple,_" answered Jotaro. "_The two Kisses cancel at least one of them if they are applied to the same person. Since you don't know which one, you have to go back to your village to ask for instructions._"

With that said, Jotaro took a glass of water that was nearby and emptied it on his head. A second later, a female Jotaro appeared under Shampoo's flummoxed gaze. Shampoo couldn't believe her eyes! The girl she had hunted and the man she had tried to woo were one and the same. Talk about a loophole!

"_Technically, you fulfilled one of the Kisses,_" added Jotaro. "_After all, Ranma Saotome died. It just happen that I look exactly like her in my female form, so the Kiss of Death is fulfilled. Tell your Elders about what will happen to you should you try to enforce the Kiss of Marriage once more._"

Still shell-shocked, Shampoo went away. Before crossing the threshold of the house, she turned one more time towards Jotaro.

"Bie Lao," she muttered.

"What does that mean?" asked Akane confused.

"Farewell," replied both Tofu and Jotaro.

In the night, Shampoo disappeared, like a siren in the mist after her pray escaped her.

AN: Rather cruel, I know. But I don't believe that Jotaro is beyond cruelty. Keep in mind that he saw the world end. This would put anybody over the edge.

For people who wonder about it, there will be new Stands, but they won't appear before much later, including Mikoto's. And for those who wonder, the guy managing to induce a self-sustaining amnesia is Rohan Kishibe (again). He does so to Koichi in volume 34.

Note that Jotaro isn't exactly the kind to forgive and forget. Shampoo isn't finished being manipulated by him, although she will be much more reluctant to come near him.


	8. Tutankhamen

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

VII) Tutankhamen

"Do you know that your creepiest stalker is after me?" asked Jotaro without preamble to Akane.

It had been two weeks since Shampoo's departure. Life had continued the same way it had started (again) for Jotaro. Akane had been impressed with his technique in shiatsu points and had started to take lessons with Doctor Tofu. It had the fortunate effect of helping her with her chronic anger and impatience since shiatsu required an almost meditative state of mind to be applied. She also had taken to listening to Jotaro's advice more. He wasn't teaching her martial arts per se but what he taught her was invaluable. Thanks to him she was learning how to outwit her opponents. Nabiki was becoming even more cautious around Jotaro and now around Akane. Jotaro had made no secret that Akane's payment for his advice was information about her mercenary sister's dealings. Akane was all the more eager to do it since Nabiki now didn't try to con her any more and in effect she didn't have much to do. That was the genius of Jotaro's plan. He scared Nabiki so much that he just had to make it known to her that he was relying on her sister to tell him about any shady deal she concluded and Nabiki stopped nearly all of her activities by herself.

Akane looked curiously at Jotaro.

"My creepiest stalker?" she asked befuddled. "You mean Kuno?"

"No, Kuno is just stupid, not creepy," answered Jotaro. "I was talking about Hikaru Gosunkugi."

"Gosunkugi?" wondered Akane aloud before realisation came to her. "Oh, I see who you mean, but he is essentially harmless, trying to do some useless voodoo stuff. He's not a stalker."

"You obviously didn't see him then," replied Jotaro. "And I'll have you know that in the hands of a real expert some voodoo techniques are downright dangerous. It's a good thing that he is far from an expert. And as for not stalking you..."

Jotaro then gave her shots of herself at different times of the week. Akane looked startled.

"Why did you take photos of me?" she asked suspicious.

"I didn't. Gosunkugi did," replied Jotaro. That stopped Akane in her tracks.

"He took photos of me!" she exclaimed. "But then that means he likes me!"

"I thought that it was pretty obvious myself," said Jotaro unhelpful. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Well, on the one hand I'm glad that he didn't try to beat me up like the other idiots, although it could just be because he is too frail," she detailed. "On the other hand, I'm annoyed that he doesn't have the guts to tell me properly. So all in all, as long as he doesn't do anything, I'll leave him be. Why is he after you by the way?"

"He made the same misconception as everyone," explained Jotaro. "He thinks that I am your boyfriend and is in league with Kuno to try and find my weaknesses so as to beat me up."

"Why does everyone think that I'm your girlfriend?" sighed Akane.

"Well, to be fair, I'm the only boy you approach willingly without a sneer of disgust and you do so on a daily basis," suggested Jotaro. "You brought it on yourself, Miss "I hate boys". Need I remind you that the only other male you don't outright despise who isn't related to you is Tofu and you do like him."

"Not so loud!" shushed Akane. She then thought about it and couldn't help but agree with Jotaro. She then thought of a detail. "What kind of weaknesses do they hope to find? You don't have any."

"Wrong," Jotaro shot back. "I have some. However, they are extraordinarily specific. My more common weaknesses have all been overcome."

Jotaro then stopped making Akane stop as well. He then took a rock on the ground and sent it in the bushes. A cry of pain was heard and Gosunkugi went away, rubbing his head.

"He is quite good at wandering undetected," commented Jotaro. "No one manages to catch him when he sneaks on somebody. However, he isn't good enough to sneak on me. I took a pose on each of the photos he took of me."

"Really?" asked Akane.

Less than a hundred metres away, Gosunkugi was meeting Kuno.

"Kuno-senpai, I managed to take sneaky pictures of Jotaro Kujo," boasted Gosunkugi.

"Show me," demanded Kuno. Gosunkugi did.

It became obvious to Kuno that there was something wrong with the pictures. On each of them, Jotaro had his body bent in an S-shape and his right arm and forefinger pointing lazily in front of him. He was also looking intently at the camera.

"Sneaky pictures? He's taking a pose on all of them!" shouted Kuno while he bopped Gosunkugi on the head.

* * *

"Searching for your weaknesses?" asked Mikoto to Jotaro. "As if you had any."

"I do have some," replied Jotaro. "But they aren't found on this planet so I'm essentially safe. They've tried stupid things like frogs, snakes and spiders. I learnt that Kuno feared them, though. There's only one thing that could be considered as a weakness."

"Really?" asked a surprised Mikoto. "What?"

"It's nothing crippling, but it's something I inherited from Ranma and to him it was one. It comes from a supposedly unbeatable technique called the Neko-ken that his father forced him to learn."

"The Cat Fist?" asked Mikoto more and more surprised. "What does it do?"

"It turns a normal child into an unbeatable and uncontrollable berserker due to the inhuman training it requires," started to explain Jotaro. "The trainee, who must be a young child since they are impressionable, is thrown, tied with sausages, in a pit of starving cat. The training is repeated until the trainee dies or until the Neko-ken is learnt. Whether the technique is learnt or not the trainee develops an intense ailurophobia."

"Fear of cats?" interrupted Mikoto. "That's bothersome. What does the technique do?"

"If the Neko-ken is learnt, whenever the fear of cats becomes unbearable, that is to say whenever the trainee is exposed to too much cats for too long," detailed Jotaro, "the trainee's mind snaps and he starts behaving like a cat. But that's not all. It opens the paths for vital energy at their maximum throughout the body, enhancing the strength, speed, reflexes and recovery at insane levels. It also create extensible claws from this energy that have the power to cut through literally everything. The drawback is that it is extremely taxing on the body and that due to the cat's instinct that overwhelms the mind, the trainee is often distracted by things like butterflies. However, should he be attacked, his attackers will most likely regret their decision."

"And Genma made his son learn that?" asked Mikoto horrified.

"He saw the words 'unbeatable technique' and the description of the training and decided to subject Ranma to it," explained Jotaro. "He didn't read the last part of the manual that said that only a moron would try this technique. Hence why I think that Genma is a moron. I heard he went out of coma recently. I hope he goes better soon. Ranma deserves some more payback."

"You said that it affected you but that it wasn't crippling to you," said Mikoto as she realised what she had missed. "How does this Neko-ken affect you?"

"I can trigger it by just focusing mentally on a cat," answered Jotaro. "Ranma probably could too but he was so scared of cats that he literally banned anything remotely cat-like from his mind. I however don't have the major weakness of the Neko-ken and can fend off cats before activating it. I then display all the symptoms of the Neko-ken but my mind doesn't revert to that of a cat. I am thus way harder to distract and can focus on an opponent and have enhanced attributes and claws. However, it drains my vital energy extremely fast and prevents me from masking it, even though I can still coalesce some of it into my Stand. The activation of the Jusenkyo curse in whichever way ends it, otherwise I have to let it exhaust me. Since I can't be underestimated while in the Neko-ken, it literally makes cats my weakness. I like being underestimated and everyone can feel the staggering amount of power I have while under its influence."

"I see," said Mikoto after thinking. "Not that much of a weakness, all things considered."

Outside of Mikoto's house, Gosunkugi was listening at the conversation under the window. At least he was trying to. The only bit he managed to catch however made his day.

"... makes cats my weakness..." was all he heard but he figured that it would be enough and went away to tell Kuno what he had learnt.

* * *

"It sounds really stupid," said Akane perplexed.

"I know that," replied Jotaro. "It is a really obvious trap but I have to trigger it, if only to know who is stupid enough to send a letter stating that you've been taken hostage when you obviously are not."

With that said, both Jotaro and Akane entered the gymnasium.

"Oh, Jotaro you came to save me!" said a tearful Gosunkugi while wearing a poorly realistic outfit of Akane.

Jotaro stopped and turned to Akane, who had been thunderstruck. She noticed Jotaro's gaze and noticed what he hid behind his emotionless façade.

"Don't laugh," she threatened simmering in anger.

"Of course I won't," replied Jotaro in an emotionless voice. But Akane could hear the smirk behind it.

She jumped on the stage and grabbed Gosunkugi by his collar.

"What's the meaning of this?" she ground out. Gosunkugi was suddenly in seventh heaven.

"She spoke to me," he said in rapture not noticing Akane's disgusted face. Jotaro came behind him.

"Wasn't it supposed to be a trap?" he asked. This snapped Gosunkugi out of his trance.

"Oh, that's right," he said. And he activated a rope that opened the floor under their feet.

However, only he and Akane fell. Jotaro had the time to escape before falling.

"Are you all right, Akane?" asked Jotaro.

"I'm all right," she replied. "Gosunkugi too. However, it's full of cats here."

'_So he heard of my weakness,_' thought Jotaro. '_Oh, well. It should be interesting._' And he jumped into the hole.

As soon as he arrived, Gosunkugi threw a string of sausages around his neck.

"Ahahahahaha," laughed Gosunkugi. "Now succumb to your worst fear, Jotaro Kujo!"

Jotaro looked at him intently for five seconds, then he plucked the sausages from his neck and threw them away. The cats immediately started to eat them.

"So that was you who listened to us last night at home," he said casually. Gosunkugi looked shell-shocked.

"Wha-What?" he stammered. "Bu-But... I thought you were afraid of cats."

"I said no such thing," Jotaro shot back. "I said that cats were my weakness, not that I feared them. There's a difference."

Gosunkugi looked disappointed. Akane looked curious.

"Why would it be your weakness?" she asked.

At that moment a roar was heard in the room. Jotaro, Akane and Gosunkugi turned their heads to where it had come from. A door at the end of the room suddenly creaked and started to bulge, as if a great weight had crashed into it.

"What is this?" asked Akane alarmed.

"Oh, just a tiger," replied Gosunkugi. Akane's head whirled around on to him while Jotaro's gaze hardened.

"You brought a tiger here?" she asked frantically.

"Well I thought that it would scare Jotaro," said Gosunkugi, but he looked a bit afraid now that he was in the vicinity of the said tiger.

At that moment the door collapsed under the weight of the irate and hungry tiger. The beast prowled around a little before its gaze locked with Jotaro's. It roared hungrily.

"Everyone would be afraid of a hungry tiger!" screamed Akane frantically.

At that moment, Jotaro's aura, which Akane could safely tell that she had never seen, ignited in a sickly purple light. Akane gasped. The aura was enormous and intense. It coalesced into Jotaro's nails, forming what looked like demonic claws. Akane looked at Jotaro more than a bit nervous. The man who was usually so guarded was exuding an insane amount of power. It went against everything that Jotaro stood for. The tiger saw the aura and started to cower, clearly more afraid than it was hungry now.

"Now you understand why cats are my weakness," stated Jotaro casually. "I can't hide my power against them. It's time to show you why I am not afraid of them."

And he struck with his claws. To Akane and Gosunkugi, who just saw sickly purple light and only heard the deafening noises of destruction, it seemed that the Apocalypse had come sooner than expected.

* * *

Kuno was waiting in the gymnasium for Jotaro to cower in fear and fall in front of his godly might. Soon the insufferable cur would come from the only issue that led out from under the stage and Kuno was already waiting for him. The tiger was a nice touch, he admitted. Gosunkugi had had a good idea, he wasn't totally useless after all.

At that moment, howls were heard from under the stage. Kuno was about to rejoice but he immediately noticed that something was wrong. These weren't human howls, they were animal ones. Suddenly a flock of cats gushed from under the stage and fled at high speed. They were followed by a tiger that jumped into Kuno's arms and stayed there in a classical 'damsel in distress' position. Kuno was so startled that only one thing came to his mind.

"I'm flattered that you like me but my heart is already taken," he said stupidly.

Then he felt it. The tiger felt it too and escaped without a second thought.

It was a feeling of barely concealed fear that crept into him. It was calling at Kuno and telling him to run, run like hell and never look back. However Kuno was proud of himself and would never flee, especially without seeing his enemy. So he stayed. Twelve second later he finally saw it.

Jotaro jumped from under the stage and stood there facing Kuno. Purple light with black streaks was covering his whole body, making his trenchcoat and hair billow. The sickly light was especially bright in his nails, making them look like claws. His eyes were exuding purple light, giving them a red tinge. All in all, he was the very embodiment of a demonic being.

"So you finally reveal your real nature, foul demon," said Kuno haughtily. He brandished his bokken. "Have at thee!"

Jotaro eyed him scornfully.

"So it was your idea too," summarized Jotaro. "You really think that you have the slightest chance against me now that you've unlocked all of my power? Need I remind you that I never went all out against you until now?"

Kuno looked a bit unsure. Jotaro capitalized on it.

"Prepare yourself," he just said. And he struck.

He just took a swipe with his left hand, too fast for Kuno to see. Immediately, trenches opened on the ground of the gymnasium up to Kuno's feet, crossing the seven metres that separated them. Kuno looked at the trail of destruction that lead to Jotaro and an emotion that had never until now made its way up to his face appeared: fear. He hadn't seen it but Jotaro's claws were able of projecting some vital energy that made it look like they could elongate.

At that moment Jotaro _moved_, crossing the space that separated him from Kuno. Kuno was so startled that he struck involuntarily with all his might. Jotaro didn't care though and stopped the bokken with his hand. He then made his hands blur and less than a second later Kuno was just holding the handle of the bokken, the rest of it having been reduced to sawdust. Kuno eyed his bokken stupidly before pain registered and eight gouges appeared on his torso. He released the handle of the bokken, put his hands on his now ruined (by cuts and by his own blood) kendo garb and fell on his knees with a cry of pain.

"Your little stunt has made me unable of any restraint to speak of," commented Jotaro neutrally. "The strangest part is that it has made my aversion for murder disappear. And I am now taken by a form of bloodlust."

He then eyed Kuno and Kuno saw something in these normally emotionless eyes: craziness and, worse of all, an unhealthy amount of primal and carnivorous hunger.

"Run," simply said Jotaro. "Run before I kill you."

And for the first time of his life, Kuno listened to what Jotaro was saying. He went up and ran away, shrieking with unadulterated fear.

Out of the gymnasium, the students raised their heads when they heard the shrieks of terror. They were surprised to see Kuno flee in what seemed to be horror shouting all the while about demons. A few seconds later they saw Jotaro exit the gymnasium calmly, or at least as calmly as a whirlwind of power can. They all looked at his demonic appearance with some apprehension, some more scared than the others. Nabiki was the most scared. If Kuno, KUNO for God's sake, was afraid of Jotaro, then he had to be terrifying.

Akane came behind Jotaro, cautious not to touch his aura as she was more than a little intimidated by him.

"What's this technique?" she asked awed.

"That's the Neko-ken," replied Jotaro so that everyone heard him. "It's a technique I can trigger by myself but the presence of anything remotely feline has the unfortunate side-effect of triggering it too if I see them too long. It's the reason why cats are my weakness."

"How is it a weakness?" asked Akane incredulous. "Haven't you seen how strong you are?"

"Exactly," explained Jotaro. "It releases all my power without any means of control. It's exactly what I always fight against. I lose all sense of restraint whatsoever. I wasn't lying when I said it diminished my inhibition against murder and enhanced my bloodlust. It's a good thing I don't see your sister or I might tear her apart for the sake of it."

While everybody was eyeing him with mounting horror, Jotaro was glad that he was able to lie that convincingly. He had managed to disguise the true weakness of the Neko-ken (the fact that it was taxing on the body).

"I'm going to go away to let it wear off," he simply added. And he jumped over the school in the direction of the swimming-pool, leaving petrified students and a weary Gosunkugi who was thanking the heavens that Jotaro had seemingly forgotten him.

* * *

After a quick trip into the swimming-pool that got rid of the Neko-ken and while she was going back home, Jotaro had noticed that she was followed by a pink cat. While she turned around, she noticed that the cat was following her too perfectly for an animal. When she arrived at home, she entered the garden's door and activated a Time Stop. She then jumped the wall and went behind the cat. After she released the Time Stop she followed the cat stealthily as it approached her home, noticing that it seemed to search for an entry it could use. As it noticed an open window and prepared to jump into it, Jotaro caught the surprised feline by the scruff of its neck. She then turned the surprised beast towards her, mindful of its claws.

"Are you a Jusenkyo victim?" asked Jotaro pointedly to the cat. It was so surprised that it bobbed its head up and down.

"I see," she simply said.

She entered the house and went directly to the bathroom. She then filled the furo with hot water before plunging the cat in it. The cat turned into a naked Shampoo at the contact of hot water.

"Airen," she said meekly. "I sorry."

"I'm not your husband," replied Jotaro. "Why are you sorry? You've finally been exiled from this backwards village of yours."

"That the problem," she explained. "I not exiled. And I not come alone. Great-grandmother with me."

Jotaro mulled on this for a moment. She then took of her cap and plunged her head into the water, turning back into her male form.

"Lets wait for her in the living-room," said Jotaro now back in his male form. "Do you have some clothes?"

"Yes," replied Shampoo. She jumped out of the furo and picked up clothes from... somewhere. Jotaro was watching her intently but to her chagrin he didn't even glance at her curvaceous body.

"Where did you get these clothes from?" he asked.

"Used Hidden-Weapon technique by inverting ki-field, like Jotaro do," she replied as if it were obvious, and to her it was.

"No I don't," countered Jotaro. "I use a very specific property of a friend's ability. It's not something that can be learnt like your technique."

Shampoo nodded, although she didn't really understand how he did it if he didn't use the Hidden-Weapon technique, and she got dressed. They went to the leaving-room where Jotaro poured three cups of tea, waiting for Shampoo's hypothetical great-grandmother. They waited for five minutes before Jotaro got up and opened a window under Shampoo's clueless gaze.

"Took you long enough," he said. And a troll-like figure appeared. It was balancing on a gnarled wooden cane and was so old and wrinkled that determining its sex was impossible, except maybe for Jotaro who noticed that it was female. It was wearing a green dress and had grey hair longer than its body. It also had big wide eyes that betrayed a surprising intelligence.

"Greeting, Son-in-law," she said. "My name is Cologne, Elder and Matriarch of the Amazons of Joketsuzoku."

"Khu-Lon," replied Jotaro. "I'll have you know that I'm not your son-in-law."

"Shampoo administered the Kiss of Marriage to you," countered Cologne. "By our laws, you are already married to her. All that remains to do is to consummate your relationship. After all marrying a strong man is our way."

"I've got news for you, Khu-Lon," Jotaro shot back. "We are in Japan, and as such your laws have no hold against me here."

"It doesn't matter, an Amazon carries our laws with her wherever she goes," said Cologne stubbornly. "You will marry her."

"I'd sooner kill her, and you, before marrying her," replied Jotaro emotionless. "It would be easier for me after all. I would just have to put her in the freezer to prevent her decay and she wouldn't ever bother me. You, I would burn instantly. You're too ugly to keep."

Cologne was a bit startled by Jotaro's vindictiveness and irritated that he thought so badly of her skill. As if this young man could even scratch her! She had about three hundred years of experience on him. She decided to bop him on the head with her cane for his comment on her looks.

However Jotaro evaded.

Cologne's eyed widened, as did Shampoo's. Nobody, even Cologne's fellow Elders had ever evaded her dreaded bop on the head as far as Shampoo knew. Cologne knew of only one person who had evaded her cane but she didn't want to remember _him_. Cologne tried a few other strikes and Jotaro still evaded her. Cologne was definitely impressed. She jumped through the open window and waited for Jotaro to follow her. She waited for one minute, then two, then five. At ten minutes, she became exasperated and went back to where she had left him.

Jotaro had been discussing with Shampoo for all this time. She had told him about how she had received her curse as a punishment for her failure at bringing her back and how she had had to learn the Hidden-Weapon technique to be able to keep her clothes and weapons on her even when she was turned into a cat. Jotaro vowed to learn the technique as soon as possible. It was a decent substitute for his Doorspace and it could be activated without a Stand. Shampoo then told him about how she was more and more seriously considering ditching her village for good but how her great-grandmother wouldn't allow it.

Cologne came back when Jotaro was discussing martial arts with Shampoo, comparing their respective training.

"Why didn't you follow me, Son-in-law?" asked Cologne irritated.

"I'm not your son-in-law, Old Ghoul," he replied. "And why would I follow you? There's nothing I want from you."

Cologne saw red at her dismissal by this mere male. The Amazons had been a proud Matriarchal tribe for about three thousand years and this arrogant male thought he knew better then her? He should know his place! She jumped at him with all her speed and buried her cane in a point on his torso. She smirked satisfyingly. She wasn't prepared for what she heard next.

"A shiatsu point I don't know," noticed Jotaro. "Interesting. I'll have to ask Tofu about what it does. Probably something to do with sensations given the zone it was applied."

Shampoo and Cologne were quite put off by his casual and yet not ignorant attitude.

"You known what she do?" asked Shampoo awed.

"I knew she would press a shiatsu point before she hit me and I knew it wasn't a terribly dangerous one, so I let her press it," explained Jotaro emotionless. "I however don't know this one. I'll have to consult Tofu on this. We've yet to broach the subject of sensory alterations via shiatsu."

Cologne looked impressed by this male's knowledge. He would make a fine addition to the tribe. She'd have to see that he be allowed to work as a healer instead of a mere slave. He would soon be begging her to marry Shampoo. All Japanese men were prideful of what they were after all.

"I'll leave you for now," finally said Cologne. "But mark my words, male. Soon you'll be begging me to marry Shampoo. Come on Shampoo, we're leaving."

Shampoo sighed and followed her. Just before they went out, Jotaro spoke one final time.

"There's one thing you should be mindful of, Old Ghoul," he said ominously. "While you want me alive and mostly intact for your tribe, I have no such disposition towards you. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Cologne almost shivered at the coldness of Jotaro's tone but she scoffed. What could he do against an Amazon Elder? She was so sure of her superiority that she didn't even notice the look of terror on Shampoo's face.

* * *

"A shiatsu point you don't know?" asked Akane. "There are things like that?"

"That's why I'm going at Tofu's practise," replied Jotaro. "I'm pretty sure that he knows it and what it does."

"Must be something really pernicious or something delayed if you still don't know what it does," commented Akane.

"You should give up yet and marry Shampoo, Son-in-law," said Cologne who had been following Jotaro with Shampoo undetected, at least in her mind. Jotaro had seen them thanks to Star Platinum.

Jotaro sighed and went near a vacant lot where an eroded concrete beam was lying. He lifted it effortlessly, although it probably weighted at least half a ton. Akane's, Shampoo's and Cologne's eyes widened at the casual display of strength. Without even looking back, Jotaro threw the concrete beam at Shampoo and Cologne, who quickly vacated the premises. At that moment, a figure dresses in white Chinese robes appeared on the trajectory of the beam.

The figure, a man obviously, had long straight black hair, longer than Shampoo's even. He was wearing a pair of round glasses on his head that Jotaro noticed as glasses for myopic people with a strong prescription. The man cut the concrete beam in two with a Chinese broadsword, making the parts fly above him. Two seconds later, the part fell on the ground, burying him in the process. Akane blinked.

"Is he dead?" she asked cautiously.

"Only stunned," answered Jotaro. "Whoever he is, he is strong, despite his stupid stunt. And he should wake up... now."

At that moment, the beam parts moved and the man stood up. He then looked around him, saw Akane and made a beeline to her. Then, to her surprise, he took her in his arms.

"Oh, Shampoo!" he gushed, stroking her back. "How I longed for you in China!"

"Mousse!" exclaimed Shampoo as she came closer. "What you doing here?"

Mousse stopped holding Akane, then took her at arm's length and put his glasses on his nose.

"You're not Shampoo!" he shouted. Akane punched him in the gut.

"Of course not!" she replied angrily while he fell on his knee trying to regain his breath. "And I don't like being groped by strangers!"

"Mu-Tsu, huh?" said Jotaro neutrally before turning to Shampoo. "Xian-Pu, do you know this genius in clown clothing?"

"Is Mousse," replied Shampoo scornfully. "Is Hidden-Weapon master and is in love with Shampoo. But is so myopic that he declare love to rocks or cows instead of Shampoo so Shampoo despise him."

"That would put a damper on any relationship," admitted Jotaro. "So what brought you here, Mu-Tsu? Besides Shampoo I mean."

Mousse seemed to regain his bearings and eyed Jotaro defiantly.

"Jotaro Kujo!" he declared pompously. "I came here to defy you to regain Shampoo's hand!"

"Okay," said Jotaro neutrally. "You win. Take her hand, I don't want it. Even in formalin it would bother me."

Mousse and Cologne eyed Jotaro as if he had grown a second head. Akane and Shampoo knew however that he was more serious in his threat than he let on but they didn't dare comment on it.

"How dare you defile Shampoo with such horrible thought?" said Mousse scathingly. "I challenge you at a man to man fight. The winner gets..."

"You can't have Shampoo," interrupted Cologne. Mousse stopped for a minute, then he eyed Akane and pointed at her.

"The winner gets your girlfriend," he said triumphantly.

Jotaro said nothing but made one step back. Akane contained her anger and went up to Mousse as if nothing was wrong. Mousse eyed her inquisitively. When she was close enough, Akane slammed her knee into Mousse's groin without warning. Mousse doubled over under the pain. Shampoo whistled. Even when she was angry at him, she had never been that hurtful against Mousse. Akane took Mousse's head between her hands so that he was forced to face her.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" she snarled. "And I'm not a prize to be fought over. Find something else."

And with that she released him. Cologne eyed Akane calculatingly. The girl knew how to mask her intentions, which was something Shampoo wasn't good at. Maybe Shampoo could learn things from her after all. Jotaro went up to Mousse and eyed him with his usual unreadable gaze.

"Why not fight for the sake of it?" he asked. "That way you won't get hurt any more before the match even started."

Mousse eyed him cautiously.

"Tomorrow at noon in the park nearby. Will you promise on your honour that you'll be there?" he asked.

"What honour?" Jotaro scoffed. "I don't have any honour. I don't even believe in honour. Honour is for the weak-minded. You just have to take the risk that I won't be there. But I'm telling you that I'll be there. Don't expect a straight fight either. I usually fight to win. Use all the skills you have and don't hold back for some silly notion like honour."

Mousse eyed him strangely with a note of respect in his eyes while Cologne frowned. If this male had no honour, he would be harder to subdue. Shampoo and Akane kept their mouths shut, already knowing of Jotaro's tendencies.

"Well, see you tomorrow then," said Jotaro. And he went on his way, Akane following him. He noticed that Shampoo and Cologne were following him too but didn't react yet. He wanted to know why.

* * *

Two minutes later, cold water suddenly splashed him, thanks to a car running in a puddle. Jotaro noticed that Cologne grinned and he frowned. Had she done anything to her curse?

* * *

Twelve minutes later they were at Doctor Tofu's and Jotaro had explained the attack she had sustained.

"Hmmmm," muttered Tofu. "The localisation of this point reminds me of something, I have to consult a scroll. If you could go back to your male form in the meantime it would be great. It would be easier to study the effects of this shiatsu point on the form it has been applied."

Jotaro nodded and made water heat while the Doctor went to his office. She then emptied the cup of water on herself.

She was assaulted by pain the likes of which she had seldom suffered from. The last time she had felt pain on this level was against Yoshikage Kira and his Sheer Heart Attack when the small Stand had caught her in an explosion. Made In Heaven's attack hadn't hurt as much as she was hurting now. All the skin that had been touched by the hot water started to blister under Akane's horrified gaze and her male transformation didn't activate. She immediately grabbed cold water and poured it on herself. Immediately the blisters and the pain receded and she sighed in bliss. She hadn't cried under the pain but was now breathing heavily as she was recovering from it. Akane eyed her horrified. Tofu entered at that moment, his eyes in a scroll, ignorant of what had just happened.

"I found it," he said. "This shiatsu point is the Full Body Cat Tongue. It makes the recipient extremely sensitive to heat, to the point that they can't even support lukewarm water." The Doctor then noticed Jotaro's wetness as well as her heavy breathing and Akane's horrified gaze. "But it seems that you already know that," he finished lamely.

"That's right Son-in-law," cackled Cologne who had just arrived in the clinic and was balancing on her cane, followed by a sorry Shampoo. "The counter to the Full Body Cat Tongue is the Phoenix Pill, which I have right there. However, I won't give it to you unless you marry Shampoo."

Jotaro eyed her critically for a minute. She then took a Desert Eagle from her Doorspace. Every other person present sucked a breath. Cologne was so floored by Jotaro's reaction that it didn't even come to her mind to react. Jotaro aimed carefully and fired.

Cologne's cane was blown into splinters a fraction of second before she heard a deafening explosion. She fell on the ground in shock, her ears ringing, eyeing what remained of her cane with a pained and shell-shocked expression. She had had this cane for about two hundred years and this male, now female, had destroyed it without a second thought. She started to see what scared her great-granddaughter in this woman. She had very little consideration for other people. She raised her eyes and saw with horror that Jotaro was pointing her gun at her heart. She was fast, of course, but nowhere fast enough to evade carefully aimed bullets. She raised her eyes some more and what she saw shocked her to her core. Jotaro's eyes showed absolutely no emotion. She had only seen eyes like this once, when she was thirteen, and their owner had slaughtered two dozens of her Amazon sisters before being killed. Jotaro had the exact same eyes, and for the first time since she was little, Cologne felt fear.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now," said Jotaro casually. "So run. Run before I take this pill back from you smoking bullet-ridden corpse."

Whether it was the tone or the threat of the Desert Eagle, Cologne didn't wait for her to repeat herself. She went out quickly, trying to regain her bearings. Shampoo followed her wordlessly, scared out of her mind by what had just happened.

Jotaro put back the gun in her Doorspace. She then breathed heavily once before turning to the Doctor.

"Is there any way to counter the point?" she asked him.

"Hum, no," answered Tofu after he had regained his voice. "Not a shiatsu point anyway. Your best bet seems to be this Phoenix Pill that Cologne has. If I remember correctly, it releases a latent magic throughout the body that renders you immune to heat and fire."

"Wonderful," said Jotaro sarcastically. "I didn't want to rely on this old crone for a cure to this shiatsu attack. Guess I'll have to hurt her."

"I thought you were comfortable with your female form," objected Akane. "Why are you so hung up about it?"

"I have nothing against my female form," replied Jotaro. "If I was given an opportunity to lock myself in said form without strings attached, I would probably take it. It's the fact that I wasn't given a choice and that the way to my boy form is conditional that incenses me. Besides the heat sensitivity is a glaring weakness I want to get rid of."

"Well, there is a temporary counter. There's a point that annuls the effects of the Full Body Cat Tongue, but only for a minute and only once," explained Tofu. "So in effect you can regain your male body once before you get the Phoenix Pill. Do you want me to apply it to you now?"

Jotaro thought about it for a minute before deciding.

"I'd rather you used this point tomorrow just before noon when we are at the park," she said. "I have been challenged by a rather interesting fighter and I want to explain the situation to him so that he believes me."

"Besides, it is supposed to be a man to man duel," added Akane. "You're not exactly male right now."

"It's another reason why I want this point activated only tomorrow, I would need to change too soon if I activated it now," concluded Jotaro. "I have to tell Mikoto what's going on. She'll be either amused or angry at Cologne. Meet me in the Nerima park at noon Doctor."

And with that he went away.

* * *

In a building that was being renovated, Cologne was rethinking on the encounter she had had with Jotaro. She was now irritated at herself for her panic in front of this male. Amazons were proud warriors who feared no one. And memories from her childhood had been enough to send her running away like a coward. She would have to exact vengeance on Jotaro for making her look this weak.

"_Are you all right, Elder?_" asked Shampoo carefully.

"Of course I'm all right, child!" snapped Cologne. "And speak Japanese so you get to practise with this language."

"It just that Great-grandmother look really scared then," said Shampoo hesitantly, fearing that she would anger her by mentioning this moment of weakness. "Shampoo want to know if okay, yes?"

"I'm all right," sighed Cologne. "I just remembered a particularly gruesome moment of my youth when I saw his eyes. He remembered me of a ruthless killer from back then. I imagine that it's not everyday that you see one of your Elders in such a shameful position."

"Is no shameful!" replied Shampoo vehemently. "If anything, Great-grandmother not scared enough of Jotaro. Great-grandmother either very brave or very foolish."

Cologne became perplexed at that, rather than upset. What could have made Shampoo this wary of Jotaro?

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Jotaro want to toy with Great-grandmother before breaking her," answered Shampoo. "He make you regret you ever trifle with him. After all, Great-grandmother can be raped by stray dogs. Can also be tortured psy... psycho... in mind."

"Raped by stray dogs?" said Cologne while she blanched. Physical pain she could endure but such a degrading attack at her age...

"Jotaro almost do this to Shampoo," Shampoo shivered. "Shampoo believed for whole five minutes that would happen. Shampoo never feel so helpless before that. Besides, Jotaro told me, can attack Joketsuzoku any time."

"That he could best me, I'm willing to imagine it," scoffed Cologne. "But an entire village full of Amazon warriors? With a dozen of Elders?"

Cologne was suddenly utterly surprised when Shampoo grabbed her collar and drew her face near hers, which was utterly frantic.

"Is no boast!" she shrieked. "He show me video today before you give him Full Body Cat Tongue, he control nuclear devices in China! Set one on village coordinates! All Amazons die if he do that!"

Cologne paled significantly. What had she tangled with? It seemed that Jotaro was a murderous psychopath. She would have to tread carefully. Maybe make him an ally in exchange for abandoning the marriage with Shampoo. Yes, that could work. But first, she would test him. Shampoo suddenly became calm.

"Shampoo glad it's Great-grandmother he angry with," she breathed. "Would have killed herself if Jotaro after Shampoo, safer that way."

Cologne wasn't reassured the slightest by Shampoo's remark.

* * *

The hour of the fight with Mousse had come. A small crowd had appeared, learning of the brewing fight. A ring had mysteriously erupted from the ground and Mousse was waiting on it. Cologne and Shampoo were witnessing the match from afar. Only one question remained. Where the hell was Jotaro?

One minute before the match, a male Jotaro appeared on the ring. Cologne's eyed widened. It couldn't have happened! The Full Body Cat Tongue prevented the change in Jusenkyo cursed individual. How had Jotaro countered that?

Meanwhile, Jotaro arrived in front of Mousse and gauged him. He then beckoned him.

"What is it?" asked Mousse without moving.

"_I have information for you that I don't want the public to know,_" said Jotaro in perfect Chinese. Mousse's eyes widened and he came forth.

"_What is it? What kind of information would require you to speak Chinese?_" he asked in Chinese.

"_Information that Cologne and Shampoo know,_" replied Jotaro. "_Have you ever heard of Jusenkyo?_"

"_How could I have not heard of it,_" he scoffed. "_My darling Shampoo was victim of one of its dreaded curse when the Elder brought her there for training._"

"_So they call punishment training, huh?_" mused Jotaro. "_It reminds me of Genma. To answer your question, Shampoo is not the only person to have a Jusenkyo curse._"

Mousse's eyes widened.

"_You've got one too?_" he asked befuddled. "_Which one?_"

"_Spring of the Drowned Girl,_" answered Jotaro casually.

"_Figures,_" said Mousse bitterly. "_The Elder would want a husband that can be a woman for her Great-granddaughter. You would have a higher standing in the village, especially since you're a good fighter._"

"_I don't care at all,_" replied Jotaro. "_ I have absolutely no intention of marrying her and if the Old Ghoul thinks she can make me change my mind, she will be sorely disappointed._"

"_So why tell me all this?_" asked Mousse. He decidedly liked this guy.

"_So that you're not too much surprised if a redhead suddenly appears,_" replied Jotaro. "_Act as if it were my sister. Now, let's fight!_"

And with that the fight began.

Mousse took a chain that had a scythe at its extremity and started to whirl it around, trying to cut Jotaro with it. Jotaro, however, anticipated all the chain's movements and evaded it. Mousse noticed that his tactic hadn't wielded fruits and tired something else. He dashed at Jotaro and struck him with something from his sleeves. Jotaro blocked and was surprised to see what he had blocked. It was a chamber pot shaped like a duck. Jotaro could barely mask his surprise but he still managed.

"He attacked him with a chamber pot," said a spectator. "The slight is too great."

Mousse capitalized on the lull and took two curved Chinese swords. He immediately started to hack at Jotaro who barely evaded. Jotaro eyed him from afar before he smiled.

"A diversion tactic to surprise your opponent and strike him by surprise," he commented. "Very good."

Mousse looked surprised at the declaration.

"It's the first time I've been congratulated for this attack," he said dumbly. "Normally people take it very badly and consider it a joke."

"If it works then it isn't a joke," countered Jotaro. "And against someone of a lesser calibre, it would have worked. Don't listen to people when they have dumb ideas. The first rule of the fight is to win, whatever the means."

"Glad you approve," said Mousse with a smile. "But I'm not done."

And with that he charged at Jotaro by jumping in the air. Jotaro eyed him, planing to defect his obvious kick. He wondered why someone as crafty as Mousse would go for something as obvious. Mousse was just a metre above him when claws appeared on his shoes. Jotaro immediately noticed but he couldn't avoid without revealing his insane speed enhancement and he didn't want to reveal it this soon to Cologne. So he parried with his bare arms. He received three gashes on each of his arms for his effort.

He dashed back to put some distance between Mousse and himself. At that moment, rain started to pour. Mousse stopped, not knowing how to react to Jotaro's expected change. Jotaro, not willing to reveal his curse to just everyone, punched a hole into the ring and disappeared under it. He then took water from his Doorspace and splashed himself. Less than a second later, she was ready. She punched another hole in the ring and emerged behind Mousse. Since he hadn't seen her, she took a fragment of wood from the ring and sent it at his head at mild speed. Mousse turned when he heard the noise and took the wood part in his face, making his glasses fall. The crowd started to protest at Jotaro's girl form since they believed that it was another person. Mousse frowned without his glasses.

"Silence!" he howled. "You don't understand the true meaning of a fight! The aim of a fight is to win at every cost. Jotaro has the means, contrary to me, to exchange his place with his sister. We never said that the fight was exclusive, so this is legal."

The crowd fell silent. Away from it, Cologne frowned.

"What is he doing?" she asked herself. "Does he thinks he fools anyone with this masquerade?"

"It work," replied Shampoo. "Only Akane, Tofu, Great-grandmother, Shampoo and now Mousse know her real identity."

Meanwhile, Jotaro eyed Mousse.

"Why not take advantage of the time under the ring?" she asked. "You could have laid traps."

"You've been pretty much straightforward," answered Mousse while he put his glasses back on. "I didn't want to take advantage of such a weakness that's not even something you can work on."

"If you want," replied Jotaro. "Let's resume."

And the fight was on again. However, Jotaro was at a disadvantage, at least it seemed that way. She was at least a head shorter in her girl form and as a consequence, her limbs were shorter and she had a harder time hitting Mousse. She still managed more often than not to touch him but she often just grazed him. Mousse managed to land a hit or two that hurt Jotaro quite a bit, especially the kick with the claws. It tore Jotaro's Chinese shirt on the torso, revealing her breasts for a second before she closed her trenchcoat over it at the crowd's disappointment. Jotaro managed to slither between Mousse's hits and hit him square in the solar plexus. Mousse wheezed and fell back. He eyed Jotaro carefully. He then reached in his sleeves and retrieved what Jotaro identified as explosives. She drew her Desert Eagle from her Doorspace and kept it concealed in her sleeve.

"Take this!" shouted Mousse. And he sent four of the explosive items, which Jotaro identified as eggs, in the air.

Jotaro drew her gun and activated a Time Stop. She then took her time to aim the explosive that was closer to her and released the Time Stop before she fired. The explosive egg exploded, the concussive wave pushing Jotaro away without harming her since the explosives were still too far away from her. It also pushed Mousse away as he was still too close to them. The other three eggs were sent back closer to Mousse due to the concussive wave. Jotaro capitalized on it and activated three Time Stops at close intervals to shoot each of the explosives. The resulting explosions created a stronger concussive wave that engulfed Mousse and pushed him out of the ring. Mousse landed heavily in the crowd, his clothes in disarray. He eyed Jotaro stupidly. She still had her gun drawn, everyone watching it awestruck. Guns weren't supposed to be legal in Japan.

"You had a good idea in using unconventional weapons in a physical fight," commented Jotaro. "You just didn't think that I would do the same. That's why you lost. You were great otherwise. Too bad you're male, you'll always be badly considered in your tribe despite your prowess. If I were you, I would exile myself from this backward village."

And with that, she shot once more in the trees, or so it seemed. And she went away. Mousse was mulling over what she had said. It was tempting of course but he loved Shampoo...

As Jotaro went near the tree he had shot at, he turned towards it.

"You'd better be ready for when I come for your pill," she said threateningly to the tree. "I know where you stay. And I will come for you."

And with that she went away. Shampoo was trembling like a leaf while Cologne was still in shock. She had a bloody gash on her cheek where the last bullet shot by Jotaro had hit her. How had he, she, whatever, detected them? What had Cologne gotten herself into?

* * *

The next morning, Jotaro went purposefully with Akane towards the place Cologne and Shampoo had been staying at. Mousse had decided to go back to the village to train some more and to improve himself. He also wanted to meditate on Jotaro's advice to get himself exiled.

While coming to Cologne's and Shampoo's hideout, Jotaro and Akane noticed that it had been named the Nekohanten and that it was now a Chinese restaurant. Jotaro entered it without a second thought, Akane trailing her more consciously. Cologne saw her from the counter and Shampoo froze as she saw her, sure that something horrible was bound to happen.

"Well, Son-in-law," said Cologne carefully without her usual mocking edge. "I didn't think that you would come so soon."

"I'm not your son-in-law," replied Jotaro acidly. "And thanks to your manipulations I can't be male any more."

Cologne and Shampoo looked surprised at this.

"But you were male yesterday at your fight," objected Cologne. "So you had to have deactivated the Full Body Cat Tongue, although I didn't know it could be done."

"That's the problem," growled Jotaro. "It can't be done. The shiatsu point I used was just a one time opportunity that annulled your shiatsu attack for one minute. It is a temporary counter. I want the full time counter and you're going to give it to me."

"Then why did you waste this temporary cure for a fight with Mousse?" asked a befuddled Cologne.

"I felt he was worth it," answered Jotaro. "And I was right, he could easily beat Shampoo if he weren't so madly in love with her that he didn't dare hurt her."

"Mousse! Stronger than Shampoo? Don't make me laugh!" snickered Cologne.

"Whatever," replied Jotaro. "Now, give me the Phoenix Pill."

Jotaro suddenly released part of her vital energy in a visible way. Akane had seen it before, so she didn't react too much. Shampoo whimpered since it was much too bright for her and denoted great power. Cologne sweated at the amount that was poured out. Jotaro easily had as much ki as she did. Little did she know that Jotaro had just rendered only part of her vital energy visible.

"Not so fast, Son-in-law," said Cologne more calmly than she felt. "You'll have to take it from me and you aren't fast enough to do so. But I have a martial arts technique that you can master that would allow you to take it from me."

Jotaro stifled her aura and rendered it invisible, furthermore impressing Cologne with her mastery over her ki. What Cologne didn't know was that what she called ki was just a tiny fraction and the visible part of what Jotaro called vital energy. Jotaro had achieved perfect control over her vital energy in her previous life and a month of training in Ranma's body had given her new ideas as to its use. So in effect, she was further along than Cologne in her mastery over her ki, she just didn't know many applications for it.

"What makes you think that I'm not fast enough, Old Ghoul?" asked Jotaro disdainfully.

"I saw you fight, young woman," replied Cologne haughtily. "And while you're skilled, you're not overly fast. Come with me in the garden and I'll show you."

Akane was about to say something but Jotaro shushed her and followed Cologne. Shampoo followed too, not willing to anger Jotaro by saying something she didn't want her great-grandmother to know.

Cologne lit a fire up with coal and put chestnuts in it. She waited until the chestnut were hot.

"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she shouted. And her hands glowed with white light and blurred, grabbing the chestnuts too fast for anyone but Jotaro to see. Jotaro snorted.

"Chestnut Roasting on an Open Fire, really?" she said condescendingly. "Do you know how dumb you sound when you scream that?"

"I wouldn't mock this technique like that if I were you," glowered Cologne. That impertinent! How dare she mock a two thousand year old Amazon technique? "This technique is your only chance to be fast enough to grab the Phoenix Pill from me."

"You mean fast like this?" asked Jotaro dumbly. And her hands blurred, albeit at half the speed Cologne's had, and plucked the chestnuts from Cologne's hands.

Cologne looked awestruck. Jotaro had grabbed the chestnut at about half her own maximum speed without even using ki, she could tell by the absence of glow around her arms. Jotaro had done that by sheer speed!

"That's what I was wanting to talk about," said Akane. "What made you so sure that Jotaro had shown you the full extent of her abilities?"

Cologne was aghast. It had honestly not come to her mind that Jotaro was holding back just to fool her. She had known that she was ready to do anything to achieve her goals but she had still severely underestimated her skill-wise and power-wise.

"Well, now that I have seen you use the technique, it's just a matter of time before I can emulate it," said Jotaro neutrally.

"Not so fast, Son-in-law," growled Cologne, angry at having been played like that. "You have to pay me for the instruction. You're going to be a waitress in our restaurant."

"I don't remember ever agreeing to something like that," replied Jotaro. "I just wanted the Phoenix Pill as payment for all the trouble you caused me. You could have handed it without ever showing me that technique and everybody would have been happy. Instead, you decided to try to trick me into learning one of your technique in exchange. Well I'll learn your technique but there's no way I'll play waitress in your restaurant."

Cologne had to admit that Jotaro's logic was sound. She decided to change tactics and to try to guilt her.

"You wouldn't let a poor old woman and her great-granddaughter work alone in such a successful restaurant, would you?" she said with crocodile tears, which made her more repulsive than she already was.

Jotaro eyed her with an unreadable look.

"You're right," she finally said. "It wouldn't do, you'd have too much work. Therefore, I'll make it so you won't have clients any more."

She took a switch from her Doorspace and pressed it. Immediately, several light detonations were heard in the Nekohanten and the patrons started to cough and scream. Then there was a stampede and it became obvious that they were fleeing the Nekohanten. Suddenly, a pungent smell reached them. It was extremely heavy and was making breathing difficult. Shampoo started to freeze in fear. She had sensed this smell before.

"What have you done?" asked Cologne, he eyes widening.

"I simply detonated stink bombs I planted without any of you noticing," she replied casually. "These stink bombs will leave a smell that will stay for the better part of a week. So I have the time to learn your silly-named technique and you don't have to work meanwhile, so I don't have to help you. It's a win-win situation for me."

"Xian-Pu!" barked Cologne. "How could you not notice her placing her stink bombs?"

"What makes you think Shampoo could have seen me?" asked Jotaro.

"I didn't see you plant them so you have to have put them just before you followed me," elaborated Cologne, still mad.

"What makes you think I put them here today?" replied Jotaro.

"But... You didn't have any other time!" screeched Cologne, now slightly unsure. "You couldn't have put them right under my nose."

"Not right under it, obviously," countered Jotaro. "But you were there, sleeping in your room. I saw you this night."

Cologne's inside became lead. This psychopath had been metres away from her sleeping form and she hadn't reacted?

"It's impossible!" Cologne shot back. "I'm extremely sensitive to sound or even human presence."

"And I'm extremely sneaky when I need to be," countered Jotaro again. "Deal with it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to train for your technique."

And with that she was off, Akane following her.

Shampoo eyed Cologne with fear in her eyes.

"_I warned you, Elder,_" she said in Chinese.

"Shampoo, if I wanted your opinion I would have asked you," replied Cologne still incensed.

She now had her restaurant to rearrange and had to make the smell disappear. She wouldn't be able to have any patron before a week and with the reputation the Nekohanten would surely have, it would take quite some time before they came. All because of Jotaro. She was starting to think that she was more trouble than she was worth.

* * *

A week later, Cologne had finally had her restaurant treated and was ready to open it again, hoping that the patrons would forgive her for what she was referring to as the 'Jotaro incident'. She was wondering when Jotaro would finally defy her. It shouldn't take him much more time to learn the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken.

Unknown to Cologne, who had been too busy cleaning the Nekohanten, Jotaro had mastered the technique in half a day. She had spent two hours meditating and feeling her ki and her vital energy. Then she had trained on leaves falling from a tree (she made them fall by punching the tree with Star Platinum) for about two more hours, getting a feeling of what she had to do for the technique to work. Finally, it had taken her one try on chestnuts to make the technique work. She hadn't even burnt herself once. She could reach two hundred punches a second with the simple Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, like Cologne did. She spent the next day teaching herself to use the full extent of her vital energy to make it work. Once she had mastered it, she reached seven hundred and fifty punches a second. The next half of a day was spent learning to do the same thing with her feet. She managed to perform as many kicks as she did with punches with both versions of the technique. The last half of a day was spent learning to emulate the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken with her whole body. It allowed her to perform bursts of insane speed.

She even tried once to perform both versions of the technique while merging herself with her Stand. The results were devastating and she wrote the resulting technique as overkill. She was able to reach six thousand punches a second and as many kicks. She unfortunately broke several windows in the neighbourhood given that she had went several times over the sound barrier. It was a good thing that she trained in a vacant lot since fewer windows were broken that way.

Why hadn't she gone to see Cologne after these three days? She was simply training Akane in the technique.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" cried Akane before she plunged her blistered hands into the pond in her garden.

Akane was training at home. Her sisters and father had raised several eyebrows when they saw Akane try to catch as many leaves as possible. They had then been horrified when they saw her try to catch chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Soun had forbidden her from practising that while Kasumi had chastised her on such a dangerous behaviour. All their complaints had stopped when Jotaro had come and told them in no uncertain terms that if Akane wanted to know the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, then they should let her learn it, lest they wanted several taxes to arrive mysteriously in their letterbox. Soun had caved in before going to the work he had been obliged to find by Nabiki when she had told him that they were extremely close to being thrown out of their house because they didn't have enough to pay taxes. So Akane was training in peace for the technique. However, she was having some problems practising it.

"It burns," she whined once she took her burnt hands out of the water. She had soot all over her face after practising.

"Be grateful that I made you train with leaves before or it would burn you twice as much for the same result," commented Jotaro.

"But you make it look so easy, and you have the Full Body Cat Tongue," grumbled Akane. "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair, deal with it," retorted Jotaro. "Besides, I have a better understanding of my inner energies than even Cologne, of course I make it look easy. If it makes you feel any better, you're close to achieving it. However, you'll never manage it in your present state of mind. So let's get you out of training for a while. It'll work better after that."

"There's a fair going on in town," said Kasumi timidly. She was still a bit put off by Jotaro's mere presence. The man, woman, whatever, was scaring her on an instinctual level. She couldn't understand why Akane, who was so headstrong, was friends with her.

"Good idea," replied Jotaro. "Put on some other clothes and let's go there."

* * *

The fair was interesting for Akane. She had definitely progressed under Jotaro's tutelage when it came to precision and speed. She was able to win an impressive number of prizes at about every booth and had quickly forgotten her failure at mastering the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. Jotaro was chatting inanely with her, imparting her with wisdom that would seldom be used, like how to cheat at several card games and how to bluff at poker. She was having a good time, although anybody save Akane would have a hard time guessing given her stony face.

Akane's family was watching them from behind. They didn't dare approach Jotaro, given the way she had threatened them. However, the way Akane was behaving was extremely strange to them. They had never seen her smile or laugh so much since her mother was alive.

"She seems to like him, her, whatever," commented Kasumi suddenly.

"It's true," added Nabiki. "She's always with her at school. She has almost let all of her other friends down."

"So it seems that the Tendo-Saotome pledge could be fulfilled after all," mused Soun happily.

At that moment, Jotaro muttered something to Akane. Her sunny disposition immediately disappeared, much to her family's surprise, replaced by simmering anger. They were wondering what exactly Jotaro had told her to make her this angry when she suddenly whirled, walked purposefully to her father and slapped him hard.

All of her family eyed her in shock, her father first.

"If you have any other stupid idea like uniting two families of which one doesn't exist any more, you're going to regret it," she said scathingly.

"But Akane..." whined Soun.

"Don't 'Akane' me, you waste of human flesh!" she screamed at him. "If you weren't my birth father, I'd have left you to rot long ago! Don't abuse our family bond any more or I'm leaving for good this time!"

Soun was left speechless at the vehemence of his daughter. His other daughters were too.

"Akane, don't you think you're a bit harsh?" said Kasumi in her disappointed tone that usually cowed Akane. To her surprise, Akane whirled furiously on her.

"So now you decide to act like a big sister. Better late than never, as they say," said Akane sarcastically. "Too bad it's to defend this useless man over here," she added scathingly as she pointed at her father.

"What?" managed to utter Kasumi. She was astounded at the amount of hostility Akane was directing towards her.

"That's right!" shouted Akane in tears. "It's the first time I remember you acting like a responsible big sister towards me since mother died. Where were you when I really needed you to help me? Where were you when I needed someone to teach me limits? Where were you when I needed someone to teach me life? Where were any of you?"

And she started to cry. Her family was watching her ashamed. They knew they hadn't been the best family but to have it thrown so violently in their face was a bit much for them.

"Akane," said Nabiki plaintively. "You're not thinking what you're saying..."

"Of course I'm thinking what I'm saying," cried Akane through her tears. "I've thought about it ever since I've known Jotaro. You know what really hurts? It's the fact that this perfect stranger acted better as a father and as a big sister than any of you did. She is my best friend, father, big sister and martial arts sensei all rolled up into one. And the worst part with you is that you haven't even noticed that I felt better with her than with any of you. She taught me all the aspects of life that you should have told me about. She scolded me when she thought I needed it. She helped me when I needed it. She listened to me, not the way you do it by just being here and taking space without saying anything but by helping me find solutions to my problems. We're not a family, we're just people stuck together after a common tragedy. Why did you all abandon me?"

Her family looked torn. They hadn't known that Akane thought so little of them and that she had bottled so many emotions. She always seemed lively and they had taken that for granted, thinking that as long as she was lively she was good. But it had been a mask all along. They hadn't acted like a family and they didn't know how to start to help her.

Jotaro had an altogether strange way of consoling her. She took something out of her Doorspace and held it for Akane.

"Doughnut?" she said simply. Akane stopped crying, dried her tears and eyed her quizzically.

"What's that?" she asked, her anguish seemingly forgotten.

"A doughnut," replied Jotaro simply. "An American delicacy. Try it, it's quite good."

Akane took it and ate a morsel. Her eyes immediately lit up and she ate it whole hungrily.

"It's good," she said happily.

"I know it is," replied Jotaro in her usual neutral tone. "There's a pig plush to win at this booth."

"Where?" asked Akane. And a second later she was off.

Jotaro eyed her for a second before turning a condescending gaze at the other Tendos, who all flinched.

"If I can console her better than you with only a doughnut and a plush, then your fitness as a family is grossly overrated," she said scornfully. "I would meditate on this if I were you and stop scheming stupid marriage agreements."

"Speaking of which," interrupted Nabiki who had managed to recover her voice sooner than the others, "how did she know that Daddy was talking about marriage?"

"I told her, of course," replied Jotaro. "Silly question."

"How did _you _know?" asked Nabiki pointedly.

"I can read lips," answered Jotaro. "Useful skill, that one."

"But you were showing us your back!" exclaimed Nabiki. "How did you do that?"

"There is a small mirror in this booth," she explained while pointing at a booth where there effectively was a mirror. "I read your father's lips on it." And with that she was off to find Akane, barely believing how she had managed to bluff them when she had simply used Star Platinum to look back. Well, she hadn't lied about being able to read lips.

The Tendos remained rooted on the spot, eyeing one another, while the crowd who had watched them dispersed after sending them disapproving looks. They would remain here for the better part of an hour.

Meanwhile, Jotaro was following Akane whose good mood seemed to have come back. They came at a booth that proposed fishes for catching. Akane soon caught them all with her recently acquired skill. The booth owner noticed this and started to sweat. All of his profit margin was vanishing like water in the delta of Okavongo. He decided that he had to act if he wanted to preserve some of his margin.

"Not so fast young lady," he said greedily. "You can't keep all of the fishes like that. If you really want to keep them you'll have to catch these ones bare handed."

And with that he shoved an aquarium full of piranhas in front of her. Akane frowned at this blatant dishonesty. She wasn't really keen on taking all the fishes but this man's method were revolting her.

"I don't think she'll have any problems," commented Jotaro idly.

Akane was galvanized by Jotaro's compliment. She also had frustrations to work out as her altercation with her family had shown. She immediately started to grab the piranhas bare handed. A strange feeling came over her, as if she were in another state of mind. She caught them all in a record time without losing any fingers.

"Satisfied?" she asked feral to the booth owner.

"Yes," he cried. "You can even keep the aquarium, for all it's worth now that I don't have any more fishes."

Akane was pretty proud of herself. She took her fishes and her piranha-full aquarium. She turned around and noticed that Jotaro was eyeing her with what she identified as a satisfied smirk. Other people would have been hard pressed to see it on her stony face.

"Your hands are dry," she simply said.

"What?" asked Akane confusedly. Jotaro pointed at her hands.

"Your hands are dry," she said. "You grabbed fishes with you hands and your hands are still dry. There's something you can try now."

He then beckoned her and pulled her to a fire that was burning. Akane wondered where the fire had come from but she had seen stranger from Jotaro. Jotaro grabbed chestnuts from... who knows where. Probably with the Hidden Weapon technique. Jotaro put the chestnuts in the fire.

"You've got enough speed to perform the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken," explained Jotaro. "Just remember the feeling you had when you grabbed the piranhas."

Akane nodded, a bit dumbstruck, and felt herself fall into the same state of mind that she had had before. Her hands blurred and she noticed them blur this time due to the fact that the rest of the world seemed to have slowed down. She also noticed them glow. A second later she had two handfuls of chestnuts in her hands.

"I did it!" she exclaimed proudly and happily. Jotaro smirked. One second later, Akane was wobbling.

"What is happening to me?" she asked a bit scared. "I'm feeling weak."

"You're not used to manipulating your inner energies like that," replied Jotaro. "And you performed an extremely draining attack twice in a row. You'll be able to do more with practise. A good way to do so would be to perform it until exhaustion before you sleep."

"Okay," said Akane sleepily. And she fell asleep.

Jotaro sighed and brought her at her home, noticing while she did so that there wasn't anyone there. She must have shocked her family quite a lot to make them rooted on the spot for so long.

* * *

The next evening, Akane was finally up and frolicking around. She had slept like a log until midday and had eaten twice her usual share. The meal had been awkward, her family still not knowing how to deal with her. She hoped they would come out of their shell soon enough.

Jotaro came to see her while she was running around the blocks.

"I'm going to annoy Khu-Lon and try to grab her Phoenix Pill," she said without preamble. "Want to come and brag about your achievement?"

"Well, yes," agreed Akane.

"Excellent," commented Jotaro laconically. "Let's go."

They arrived at the Nekohanten. Jotaro saw that the doors were closed and that the sign saying that the restaurant itself was closed was also there. She didn't bother with it and gave a kick in the door. Said door flew across the main room and crashed into the wall. Jotaro entered as if she owned the place.

"Khu-Lon," she said with a raised voice, which was still strangely calm. "I've come to take what's rightfully mine."

Twelve seconds passed before Cologne came down from her living quarters, followed by Shampoo who looked intensely scared. Cologne pretended not to notice this fact.

"What's the matter, Son-in-law?" she asked grumpily.

"I've come for the Phoenix Pill," said Jotaro matter-of-factly.

"So you've finally mastered this technique?" said Cologne with a smirk. "Follow me if you want this pill." And with that she was off, Shampoo on her trail. Akane was about to follow them when she noticed that Jotaro was not after them. She had disappeared.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Jotaro appeared from the stairs.

"I'm done," she said simply.

"Done doing what?" asked Akane.

"If everything goes well you'll never have to know," retorted Jotaro. "Let's go. They are headed to the bathhouse."

Akane dashed towards the bathhouse. Jotaro followed her at a more sedate pace. They arrived at the bathhouse and entered, going to the deserted women side. Cologne was waiting for them on the edge of the hot bath, Shampoo besides her.

"Took you long enough to come," said Cologne irritated. "Come to think of it, I thought it would take you less time to learn the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken."

"I learnt it in half a day," replied Jotaro. Cologne almost fell in the water.

"Then why did you take a week to come?" she asked aghast.

Jotaro muttered something to Akane. Akane's eyes widened, then they became determined and she advanced on Cologne. When she was close enough, her hands blurred.

Cologne was so shocked that she took a fraction of second to defend herself against Akane's assault. That fraction was all that Akane needed. Cologne countered Akane's onslaught but it was too late. Jotaro grabbed Cologne's locket from where Akane had thrown it after catching it. She immediately opened it and gobbled the pill. Shampoo eyed Akane with awe and a not-so-healthy dose of jealousy. Even she, the Amazon's champion, didn't know this technique that was known by the elders and a select few. And this outsider girl got to learn it.

"I took one week to teach it to Akane after I learnt it in half a day," explained Jotaro. "She took a bit of time to get it down and she can't use it much, but there's room for improvement."

"You taught this attack to an outsider!" shrieked Cologne.

"I'm an outsider and you still taught it to me," Jotaro shot back. "You didn't tell me that I couldn't teach it."

"I didn't think you would teach it at all," growled Cologne. "Every other fighter would have kept it to herself."

"I'm a bit different from most fighters," retorted Jotaro. She then had a sinking feeling. The pill she had taken tasted too much like a candy.

She went purposefully near the baths and plunged her arm into the hot water. Her skin immediately blistered and pain ran up her arm. She took her hand from the water and plunged it into the first water container she could find in her Doorspace, which happened to be the aquarium full of piranhas that Akane had won the day before that she had taken for her and had yet to give back. She plunged her arm into it and didn't even notice the piranhas that bit her, content that she was to get rid of the burning sensation. Cologne cackled madly.

"This one was a candy," she laughed. "Despite your teaching our techniques left and right, you are an even more interesting catch than before. You'll make a fine husband for Shampoo."

Jotaro eyed her neutrally but Akane could see the anger in her eyes. She removed her hand from the aquarium, shaking it to get rid of the piranhas. Cologne's eyes widened when she saw that Jotaro's hand hadn't even a bite mark from that. She knew only intense training with the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken could harden hand like that.

"How did you get your hands so tough?" she asked.

"Lots of training with the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken," replied Jotaro neutrally.

"That's impossible," replied Cologne. "Only thousands of uses of the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken give such toughness to your hands and even I can only use it fifty times a day."

"My hands were tough after only a day," revealed Jotaro. Cologne's eyes boggled. This youngster had more than fifty times her ki? That should be impossible.

"Whoever said that revenge is a dish better served cold has obviously never seen the look in an enemy's eyes when his carefully laid plans crumble," commented Jotaro idly. She then removed a switch from her Doorspace and activated it.

A deafening explosion was heard across the street. Cologne's eyes widened. She quickly went out of the bathhouse. Shampoo was about to follow her when Jotaro grabbed her by he neck. In her haste Cologne didn't notice.

She arrived in front of the Nekohanten after pushing through the crowd and, sure enough, where the Chinese restaurant had once stood, there was nothing left but a pile of rubble. She howled in rage and rushed back to the bathhouse. She entered the room enraged and didn't even notice Shampoo trembling on the ground.

"What have you done?" she roared. Jotaro eyed her calmly.

"I have enacted my revenge," she replied neutrally. "I warned you before about what would happen if you pushed me too far. Xian-Pu did too but you didn't listen, caught in your feeling of superiority. Be grateful that I didn't stun Shampoo and leave her there before pressing the switch."

"Do you have any idea how many priceless artefacts and Amazon scrolls you have destroyed?" she shrieked apoplectic.

"I know, but I didn't destroy them," replied Jotaro. "I took them all as payment for all you've done to me. Did it before I rigged the place with explosives, before we followed you to the bathhouse. I'm faster than you think. That reminds me, give me the pill. It wasn't with the artefacts, I have checked."

"What makes you think you haven't destroyed it?" seethed Cologne.

"I spent a week checking your place at night," replied Jotaro. "And you never caught me. I deduced that you kept in on you, probably with the Hidden Weapon technique."

"What makes you think I would give it to you now?" she growled.

"You wouldn't want to lose your great-granddaughter, would you?" said Jotaro rhetorically. "You have until tomorrow evening. I'll be on the beach where you bought a cabin for the week-ends. If you don't bring the Phoenix Pill, you'll lose Xian-Pu."

Cologne looked at her great-granddaughter and noticed for the first time that she was on the ground and shaking like a leaf. She was white as a sheet and had a metallic collar with a red digital countdown.

"What have you done to her?" asked Cologne threateningly.

"Ask her, I told her," answered Jotaro fearlessly. "Well good night to you, Old Ghoul."

And with that she left. Akane eyed Cologne with pitying eyes.

"Your pride will be your downfall you know," she said sadly. "If you had left her alone, she wouldn't have gone that far. She respects honesty and you have done your utmost to act dishonest until now."

And with that she went back to her home. Cologne turned to her great-granddaughter.

"What is this collar, Shampoo?" she asked imperiously.

"Is explosive collar," said Shampoo trembling. "If explode, I lose head. If timer show zero, it explode. If Jotaro die, it explode. If tinker with it, it explode. If apply ki to it, it explode. If Great-grandmother want Shampoo alive after tomorrow, have no choice but to give Phoenix Pill to Jotaro. Last thing, if Shampoo die, Jotaro kill one Amazon per day after that."

Cologne stood there in shock. This Jotaro was much more dangerous and remorseless than she had thought. She was more trouble than she was worth. With a heavy sigh, Cologne decided to follow the only course of action that would leave her great-granddaughter alive.

* * *

The next day, Jotaro was waiting at the beach with Akane. Both of them were in bathing suits. Jotaro had a green and red one piece while Akane had a yellow bikini. They were drawing a lot of attention from the males, which made Akane rather angry.

"Perverts," she spat.

"All men are on some level," said Jotaro casually. "Even Tofu. I happen to like this sort of attention, even though I don't crave much for it. You should enjoy it too. It probably won't last."

"You wouldn't say the same thing if it went further than that," noted Akane.

"I wouldn't say that," replied Jotaro. "If given the opportunity to go out with a desirable male, I would probably go for it, maybe even sleep with him."

Akane became red as images of Jotaro with a guy in several embarrassing positions came unbidden to her mind.

"You probably won't say that once you have your male body," countered Akane.

"On the contrary," Jotaro shot back. "I have never dated or slept with a man, so I would be willing to try."

Akane choked and eyed her strangely.

"You... Are you gay?" she asked shamefully.

"It depends on the form I'm in and the person I'm with I guess," answered Jotaro. "I after all have not forsaken women at all. It all depends on the opportunities I get."

Akane seemed to mule this over while trying to refrain to call Jotaro a pervert, even though she seemed to have strange tastes. Meanwhile, Jotaro was thinking about what she had said to Akane. It was true, it was all a matter of opportunity. She had refrained from dating anyone after her divorce out of respect for her understanding wife. Now, said wife was dead and she had mourned her for quite a time. Maybe it was time for her to find somebody to love. Jolyne, if she ever saw her again, would forgive her for that, probably.

While Jotaro and Akane were musing, Shampoo and Cologne arrived. Shampoo was still wearing her collar.

"Xian-Pu, you haven't transformed," noticed Jotaro. "That's a good think otherwise the collar would have activated and you would have been dead."

Jotaro went up and, faster than everyone could see, the collar disappeared from Shampoo's neck. Shampoo let out a breath of relief while the collar disappeared... somewhere. Cologne's eyes widened at the speed casually displayed by Jotaro.

"Now that Shampoo isn't set to die by decapitation, give me the Phoenix Pill, Old Ghoul," said Jotaro threateningly.

Cologne took a locket from inside her robes and opened it. Inside was an iridescent pill. She then closed it and put the locket on her neck.

"I won't give it back to you like that," she said firmly. "Give me back the artefacts and scrolls you stole!"

"You obviously haven't understood me, Old Ghoul," said Jotaro neutrally. "I never talked about giving you back your things. To the victor go the spoils after all. Give me the pill and I won't kill you or maim you."

"You'll have to take it from me," growled Cologne.

"Fine with me," replied Jotaro. And she _moved_, faster than anybody could see.

Cologne didn't see her soon enough and took a kick in her ribs for that lack of speed. She jumped back and noticed that Jotaro had followed her. She received a couple of punches for her effort and the twenty punches she sent were all intercepted. She wasn't worried about damages. She had underwent the Bakusai Tenketsu training in her youth and her toughness was unrivalled among the Amazons. Jotaro wouldn't be able to hurt her.

Unless she punched her fast enough and Cologne couldn't counter but unless Jotaro outlasted her it couldn't happen and Cologne knew she would have dealt with the impudent child before that. She had to since Jotaro could indeed outlast her but she wasn't faster than her.

How wrong she was.

Jotaro suddenly used the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken on Cologne but with her whole vital energy instead of her ki. Cologne was pummelled by an innumerable number of punches that she didn't have time to block. One of her ribs cracked. So Jotaro could hit her. She had to do something against her and soon.

Suddenly, Cologne seemingly separated in eight versions of herself. She was using one of her most impressive techniques, the Splitting Cat Hairs. It allowed her to create several illusions of herself and the real her was impossible to tell from the other. She would be able to hit Jotaro if she was confused about her real identity.

"What is this technique?" asked Akane from afar.

"Is Splitting Cat Hairs," answered Shampoo. "Allows Great-grandmother to copy self with an illusion. Jotaro not know where she is."

"What are these illusions made of?" asked Akane, strangely not panicked.

"Made of ki, why?" asked Shampoo carelessly.

"Then Jotaro can see which one she is," replied Akane.

Jotaro was eyeing the Cologne lookalikes and turned to one of them.

"You're here," she simply said. And she struck.

This time, she infused herself with Star Platinum before performing a normal Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. With one thousand and six hundred punches, Cologne was hard pressed and barely managed to block a fifth of them. The rest rained on her right arm, focusing on it. It seemed that Jotaro had noticed Cologne's toughness and had acted accordingly. Her arm became a mangled mess. It was broken in at least seven places by the time Jotaro finished and the bones had pierced the skin in five places. Cologne was now bleeding heavily and her right arm was useless. She flew away under the strain and crashed in the water, near the shore.

"Is that the best you can do, Old Ghoul?" asked Jotaro idly, in a tone that only Akane recognized as feral.

Cologne frowned. It wasn't all she could do but with only her left arm she was now severely limited. Besides, Jotaro was obviously faster than her and she couldn't hope to compete in this field. The only attack that could have been of use was useless here. Not only didn't she think that she would be able to lure Jotaro in the spiral of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha but Jotaro was so calm she didn't even exude the slightest trace of ki. It was as if she was a natural master of the Soul of Ice, the ability to be utterly calm and focused, except that she didn't exude cold ki.

Cologne now knew that her chances to vanquish Jotaro were slim to none. Wait... Maybe if she remained on the water, Jotaro would be slowed down in it and she could stand over it. She might have a chance.

Cologne concentrated her ki and made a shark out of the water over whose back she stood. She beckoned Jotaro, trying to goad her into making the fatal mistake of jumping in the water, where she would be slower and where she would crush him with water.

"What, Son-in-law," she gloated. "You're not coming? Scared of a little water? You won't get your pill if you don't come."

Jotaro considered the water for a second. She then looked at Shampoo calculatingly.

"I'm not your son-in-law, Old Ghoul," she said to Cologne. "And I know for a fact that I will never be." She then turned to Shampoo. "Xian-Pu! Get into the water. Now!"

Shampoo, scared of Jotaro's retaliation and not willing to be dragged into water by said girl, executed herself. She jumped into the water, where she transformed and thus quickly got lost in her clothes. A pink cat then emerged from them and mewled piteously as it didn't like being wet.

Jotaro eyed Shampoo intently for about three seconds before her aura literally exploded, at least what Cologne could see of it. What she didn't know was that it was only a fraction of the vital energy coursing Jotaro's body. She went significantly paler at the sight of this monstrous ki that seemed malevolent due to its blackish purple colour. Then she saw the claws and her blood froze in her veins.

She had heard the tales of the monstrous Neko-ken. The martial arts technique rendered the user unbeatable at the cost of his sanity. However, the inhuman training as well as the insanity it brought had made the Amazons wary of it. The technique had definitely be banned to all Amazons a thousand years ago when a foolish Elder had subjected her daughter to the training. The resulting berserker child had decimated one third of Joketsuzoku's candidates and killed half of the Elders of this time before being slain. No victims of the Neko-ken had been seen since then but the fear of the technique had remained. And now she had one of them in front of her. The nightmare of the Amazons had come back from a thousand years of hiding. The worst part was that Jotaro wasn't even feral. Neko-ken victims were normally ruled by cat's instincts but Jotaro wasn't. Her gaze was totally focused and her demeanour remained human. What had allowed the Amazons to get rid of the last Neko-ken victim they had encountered a thousand years ago had been her instinct that had distracted her. There was obviously no chance of it happening with Jotaro. Cologne felt despair for maybe the first time in her whole life. This was a fight she couldn't win and she knew it.

"Brace yourself," said Jotaro warningly. With the Neko-ken, it came out slightly demonic.

And she struck. One second Cologne was standing on a water-made shark, the next she was stumbling in the water since Jotaro's attack had disrupted it. Jotaro had just slashed at the water with her claws and it had split, leaving a shockwave of vital energy travel up to Cologne that had disrupted her ki-structure. Cologne managed to stand again on water but, before she could react, she saw Jotaro under her. Without giving her the time to react, Jotaro struck again. Cologne felt her leg shred due to the claws and felt pain like she had never felt before. She flew in the air and looked at her leg. It looked torn, as it it had gone through a meat shredder. Before she could touch the water again, Jotaro sprung again from the water and punched her. This time, Cologne felt six of her ribs break and she coughed blood. Even the Bakusai Tenketsu training had done nothing to reduce the damage, that was how powerful and dangerous the Neko-ken was. Then Jotaro swiped at her and she felt lacerations on her belly. She flew towards the beach, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She fell heavily on the sand, her remaining arm covering her belly to stop the blood from leaving her and breathing heavily. Shampoo came to her rescue and started to try and heal her. At that moment, Jotaro came out of the water, looking like an angel of retribution without wings.

"Yield and give me the Phoenix Pill or die," she said emotionless but with so much intent that it sounded like a death sentence. "I can eviscerate you in less than a second or use the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken while in the Neko-ken. You wouldn't survive either of them."

"Shampoo," rasped Cologne, "take the pill from around my neck and give her."

Shampoo executed herself and gave the locket to Jotaro. Jotaro immediately grabbed it and swallowed it. She felt a rush in her body, feeling the expansion of some form of energy she had seldom felt, something magic. She took a lighter from her Doorspace and lit it. She put her arm over the flame and noticed that her skin wasn't catching fire. It wasn't even reddening and she didn't feel any pain from the heat. She smirked satisfyingly, although it seemed sinister with the Neko-ken, putting fear into Shampoo's and Cologne's hearts.

"Yare yare daze," she said. "Was it so difficult? You could have avoided all of these injuries if you had given it to me without a fuss, you know."

She then turned around and saw Akane eyeing her with awe and a little of fear.

"What?" she asked.

"It was extremely impressive," replied Akane. "The way you fought is awe-inspiring. But it was more than a little terrifying. Did you notice that you still are under the influence of the Neko-ken?"

Jotaro eyed her strangely and stopped. Then she meditated for a minute and the purple aura faded from around her. Her claws also disappeared.

"Now I'm not," she said casually. "I'm going back home to regain my male form. See you later."

And with that she was off. Akane lingered near Cologne and Shampoo. She sighed while she eyed them.

"Do you want me to call an ambulance for you?" she asked.

"Please?" almost pleaded Cologne. Akane nodded and started to search for a phone. Before she went away, she turned one last time to Cologne.

"You really should have given her what she wanted," she said sadly. "And from what I know, she went easy on you. Think about it." And with that she was off, trying to find a phone.

Cologne eyed Shampoo with an extremely sad face.

"Will Great-grandmother be all right?" asked Shampoo anxiously.

"I'll live," answered Cologne. "But if my arm will heal, my leg will probably remain mangled. Jotaro torn part of the muscles. I probably won't recover it entirely and will probably remain limping."

Cologne thought about their dire situation.

"I'll need you to send a message to our village," said Cologne seriously. "We lost our restaurant, our artefacts and scrolls have been stolen, our techniques are known to outsiders, we've had to give a Phoenix Pill without compensation and we've both been beaten by an outsider and I probably won't walk normally ever again. Mark my words, this is a total defeat, the likes of which I have never seen since I was born."

"It even worse than that," added Shampoo. "Jotaro know where village is and he know access to nuclear weapons. We at danger if we anger her."

"You're right, Shampoo," conceded Cologne. "We've suffered a total defeat and our village is now at the mercy of an outsider. And from what I have seen, she doesn't have any."

"_How right you are,_" replied Shampoo in Chinese.

* * *

A.N: Took me a while to edit, I know. The university caught up with me. On the other hand, this chapter is the longest so far. The pose Jotaro takes on Gosunkugi's photos is taken from the videogame. It sometimes appears in the manga but I don't have any precise references right now. As for Jotaro being rather violent, well, he isn't exactly gentle with his opponents in parts 3 and 4. As for Jotaro learning too fast, well he is a teenager with a still malleable brain with the mindset of an adult. Plus he is known to be extremely clever. And let's face it, most of the characters in Ranma aren't exactly bright.


	9. Master Passion Greed

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

VIII) Master Passion Greed

It had been two weeks since Jotaro had regained his male form. In the meantime, the two Amazons had rebuilt their restaurant. Or to be more precise, Shampoo had rebuilt it. Cologne had spent a week at the hospital, then she had mostly directed Shampoo. Since they had taken the precaution of depositing money in a bank, they had had the means to rebuild it. However, since they hadn't predicted that the restaurant would be brought down to the ground, they had had to resort to just buying the materials and building it themselves, otherwise they would be even more in the red than they already were.

Truthfully, they hadn't expected to stay in Nerima. However, the Amazon council had all but exiled them. They had been ordered to watch Jotaro and to regain the most they could of their artefacts and scroll. It was such an impossible task that it was an exile order in disguise.

Jotaro meanwhile had perused through the scrolls and the artefacts. He had left the artefacts away from now since he didn't know what they were for. However, he had struck gold with the scrolls. It would take him a year to learn all of the techniques. He had already seen the Bakusai Tenketsu and in a week had learnt it. In truth, he had learnt it in a day but had spent a week faking its learning since it gave him an increased toughness.

The normal training for the Bakusai Tenketsu involved suspending the trainee in the air with only one arm and finger free and hurling boulders at the trainee so that he learnt to find the fault lines in the boulder and struck the necessary point with his finger to make the boulder explode. Since the trainee didn't know how to find the Breaking Point of the boulder, he was struck quite a number of time by said boulder. It toughened the body instinctively, rerouteing the ki paths to protect the body. When it reached a peak, at which point the body was tougher than stone, the ki pathway reached the vision and allowed the trainee to see the fault lines in the boulder, leading to the discovery of the Breaking Point and the mastery of the technique.

Jotaro had improved the technique. Knowing its real use, he had decided that hurling himself at walls was at least as effective, especially since he used the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken on his whole body, propelling himself at high speed. It allowed him to accelerate the training. He didn't even bother with trying to find the Breaking Point since he was so attuned to his ki that he found it after only one try. He did it only once since the shrapnel hurt him quite a bit. He decided to perform the full training so that he could use the technique without the hurtful side-effect. Besides, the advantages of a toughened skin were too interesting to neglect. So Jotaro trained by hurling himself, or herself depending on the hour, into walls. When there wasn't a wall intact from his training in the neighbourhood, he went into the woods to find cliffs and boulders. After two days of intense training he had learnt the basic version of it. However, he knew that the Amazons who had designed the technique only knew of ki, not of vital energy. He thus pursued his training further than normally needed and after five days, his vital energy was coursing unconsciously through his body and had increased his toughness even more than the Bakusai Tenketsu training. His skin could now stop bullets and even explosions. Had he learnt it in his former life, it would have rendered him a lot of service, especially against Yoshikage Kira.

Since he was using vital energy instead of ki to activate the toughness due to the Bakusai Tenketsu, he had started using it to power the technique itself. It had resulted in extremely powerful explosions, at least four times more powerful than with the normal version. It would be extremely useful against persistent opponents. And it probably had applications in shiatsu. He would have to consult Tofu on this.

Akane hadn't learnt the technique, at least not yet. It wasn't that she didn't want to learn it, far from it. It was the opposite actually. However, she didn't have as good a recovery as Jotaro had. So Jotaro had told her that she wouldn't try to learn the technique before the holidays. Akane had agreed. She was eager to learn the technique but still didn't want to miss classes.

Jotaro and Akane were currently walking back home when they were distracted by a cry from above.

"JOTARO KUJO! PREPARE TO DIE!" shouted Ryoga.

And Ryoga's umbrella destroyed the ground next to Akane, where Jotaro had been just a split second before.

"You again," said Jotaro dully. "Haven't you had enough?"

"Shut up, you coward!" snarled Ryoga. "You attacked a poor grandmother and her great-granddaughter! And you even stole from them! You don't have any honour!"

"I see that you met Cologne," commented Akane casually, much to Ryoga's surprise.

"First, this poor grandmother as you call her could wipe the floor with you with only one arm and one leg," detailed Jotaro. "Second, her great-granddaughter altered Akane's memories, so she isn't that innocent. Third, I took their artefacts and scrolls as payment for the trouble they caused me."

"Shut up," growled Ryoga who decidedly didn't like to be contradicted. "She even proposed an alliance to me. That's how you broke her you monster!"

Ryoga then proceeded to punch, kick and slash his umbrella at Jotaro. However, Jotaro evaded all of it.

"FIGHT ME, DAMMIT!" howled Ryoga.

"As you wish, replied Jotaro. And he struck.

Ryoga didn't understand what happened. One second he was trying to pummel Jotaro, the next he was flying and crashing into a wall while coughing blood with a searing pain in his abdomen. What he hadn't seen was that Jotaro had punched him with the normal Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. Two hundred punches had hit his stomach in about a second.

Jotaro _moved_ and seemingly appeared in front of him. He grabbed him by his collar and put a finger a millimetre away from his torso.

"Do you know what this shiatsu point does?" he asked neutrally.

"What?" coughed Ryoga.

"It is called the Full Body Cat Tongue. It renders your whole body extremely sensitive to heat, making it impossible for the victim to even touch hot or even lukewarm water. It also prevents Jusenkyo cursed individuals to regain their birth form," explained Jotaro. "Cologne pressed this point on me and blackmailed me with the only counter that exist, trying to get me to marry her great-granddaughter forcibly. I just took what was rightfully mine after all the trouble she caused me. If I were you, I wouldn't deal too much with them. She might activate the Full Body Cat Tongue on you if you don't help her like she wants."

And with that, Jotaro resumed his road, followed by Akane.

"Damn!" muttered Ryoga despite his wounds. A minute later, Cologne arrived near him.

"So, do you accept my help now, Ryoga?" asked Cologne sinisterly.

Ryoga thought about Jotaro's warning about her, then scoffed at them. He had probably invented them to make the Amazons look bad, the coward.

"I think I will," replied Ryoga.

* * *

While Cologne was leading Ryoga in the woods to train him in the Bakusai Tenketsu, a dirty white clad figure wearing round glasses and a white bandanna escaped from the hospital. Genma Saotome had been roused up from his coma three days ago by the doctors who believed that he would be okay from now on. Genma had waited the next three days, only eating and sleeping so as too recover better. Then, two hours ago, he had gotten rid of the casts on his legs and had made his escape.

He had to find his wayward son and get him to drop this Jotaro Kujo nonsense. Then he would beat the boy senseless, bring him back to the Tendos so he could be married and he would have his retirement assured. He didn't even need Soun's help with that. The boy must have won with a cheap spot. Genma actually didn't recall how his son had beat him and he didn't care. He would use his forbidden techniques and cow the boy into marriage.

Had he called Soun before, Genma would have pondered a little on his plan. And probably cancelled it.

* * *

Jotaro was currently going back home from school. It had been a rather boring day, like everyone he spent in school in fact. He had forgotten to bring new reading material this time and had resorted to reading a scroll he had pilfered from Cologne. It dealt with shiatsu point. Jotaro easily convinced his maths teacher that he was reading ancient Chinese texts, which wasn't far from the truth after all. He was wondering whether he should try to translate and edit them in Japan to mess some more with the Amazons or not.

It was thanks to having Star Platinum permanently active that he saw Genma appear out of thin air and try to pummel his back while howling: "White Snake Fist!"

Jotaro immediately turned around, surprising Genma, and interrupted all of his attacks.

"Yare yare daze," he said lazily. "Genma. How unfortunate. For you, that is."

"Quit spouting this nonsense, boy, and come back with me!" said Genma imperiously.

"In case you have forgotten, you pathetic waste of human flesh," Jotaro shot back, "I'm not your boy. I thought I made that pretty clear at the Tendos."

"Don't try to bullshit me, boy," growled Genma. "You're my son and nothing is going to change that ('_or I would lose all the comfortable retirement I planned on,_' he thought). Now come and fulfil our family pledge!"

Genma continued to rain more attacks of the Yamasen-ken, one of the two forbidden schools of techniques he had created, including the Moko Kaimon Ha, which consisted in a strong kick propelled after opening the opponents arm, and the Deadly Embrace, which involved hugging the opponent until his spinal cord cracked. Unfortunately for him, Jotaro evaded all of his attacks. They were soon in the outer grounds of a temple, where several statues were present.

"First," stated Jotaro. "I'm not your son any more. I have my own identity as Jotaro Kujo and have been declared an emancipated minor, so you don't have any authority over me, legally speaking or not. Secondly, you put your honour on the line in making this family pledge and I don't see why it would fall to me, or even to Ranma, to honour your pledge. Lastly, I absolutely don't believe in honour. It's just a tool used by weak people to trick people more powerful than them into doing things for them. You probably did it to gain Tendo's Dojo as a dowry for the marriage."

'_Damn, the boy has become more perceptive,_' thought Genma. '_Strong too. I have to do something more radical._'

Without preamble, Genma started to fade from view and to reappear at various places to send attacks at Jotaro. Thanks to Star Platinum, Jotaro could detect him visually since he needed to release his technique to attack. It impressed Jotaro that such a sloth like Genma had managed to create a technique that masked all of his vital energy and thus made him invisible to the naked eye. However, soon enough, Jotaro developed a parade. He just had to search for a void in vital energy. It wouldn't work if one was simply looking for ki but everything alive held a small measure of vital energy and Genma's technique drew it to him. Not much, mind you, but it was enough for Jotaro to detect the ripples in the air. Jotaro wondered if it wasn't how his grandfather's Hamon (or Ripple) worked. It would be impressive to learn the technique by himself simply by learning martial arts. Genma soon became frustrated.

"How can you counter the Umisen-ken like that, boy?" he snarled. This battle was becoming harder than he was comfortable with.

"So that's the name of your technique," said Jotaro idly. "It's impressive but it has the glaring weakness of forcing you to come out of it to attack me."

Genma growled and decided to pull out all the stops and to release his deadliest attacks.

"Kijin Raishu Dan!" he howled. A ripple appeared to Jotaro's eyes in the air, travelling at great speed towards him. He evaded it and noticed that it cut deeply into a statue, making pieces of it fall to the ground. It was the most dangerous attack of the Yamasen-ken.

'_Reminds me of Okuyasu's The Hand,_' thought Jotaro. 'E_xcept that Genma's technique sends a blade of void rather than a chunk of it, so the uses are reduced. Besides, contrary to The Hand, it doesn't make matter disappear._'

Genma tried a couple more time to hit Jotaro with this attack and was becoming quite frustrated.

"How can you see the Kijin Raishu Dan come, boy?" growled Genma.

"I'm not your boy," countered Jotaro. "I'm not even a boy all the time thanks to you. As for how I can see your attacks, it's just a form of vision I developed during your two month stay at the hospital."

Genma was startled by what Jotaro had said. He had been unconscious for two months? It was not surprising that his boy had developed new skills. Jotaro then circled Genma and Genma decided to play his trump cards. Her started to whirl on himself while throwing multiples Kijin Raishu Dan. As expected, Jotaro avoided those but the attacks had destroyed multiple statues.

Genma then used the Shooting Star cloth of the Umisen-ken and started to steal pieces of the fallen statues. He also tried to steal Jotaro's clothes in the process but Jotaro evaded him each time. He also weakened the ground by digging holes into it with the Umisen-ken's attacks. Jotaro eyed him curiously, wondering what he was preparing. Genma thought that Jotaro hadn't noticed anything but Jotaro had seen all. Genma stood proudly in front of Jotaro.

"What's wrong, boy?" taunted Genma. "Too scared of your father to attack?"

Jotaro realised that Genma wanted him to attack, probably to release a counter attack he had spent much time to prepare. He summoned Star Platinum fully.

"You seem to want me to attack," said Jotaro idly. "Why should I oblige you?"

Genma started to sweat. He hadn't predicted this reaction. His son would normally have jumped at the taunt. This wouldn't do.

"Why, boy, you sounded like a little girl, too cowardly to attack," boasted Genma.

"Girls aren't too cowardly to attack," countered Jotaro. "They're just sneakier and more vicious at it than men. But if you really want me to attack you..."

Jotaro then drew his Desert Eagle and pointed it at Genma. Genma was utterly shocked.

"Have you lost your mind, boy?" he shouted outraged. "Weapons are a weakness and now you're using one." What Genma wasn't saying was that he couldn't avoid a well-aimed bullet and that his counter-attack wouldn't work against a gun.

"I think that you're just too scared of losing because of a gun," replied Jotaro. "Unlike me, you don't know how to dodge or stop bullets and you're too vulnerable to them. But this time, I'm going to indulge you."

He then put back his gun into Doorspace, much to Genma's relief and put his hand in a position that made Genma's eyes widen. He wouldn't dare...

"Kijin Raishu Dan," said Jotaro calmly before he performed the attack.

Genma's eyes widened, bigger than saucers. Jotaro's attack was bigger than his own, at least seven times bigger and at least that more powerful. Jotaro had seen him execute the attack only a handful of time and he had replicated it. Even though he was extremely good, he hadn't been able of doing that before. He definitely had changed, and it scared Genma.

However, the fact that his attack was so powerful played in Genma's favour. The fact that it was a Kijin Raishu Dan helped him even more. After all, he had readied the perfect counter for it.

Genma jumped in the way of the attack and, just before it touched him, unrolled the cloth that he was carrying and where he had stored the pieces of statue. He howled "Nocturne Pack!" and the ground under Jotaro collapsed.

It was impressive, Jotaro had to admit it. The ground raised around him as he himself collapse with the patch of grass he was on and the blocks Genma had gathered were preventing his retreat above. He was literally trapped as the ground buried him.

Genma looked at the result of his attack with satisfaction after he had waited for a minute. The boy had been extremely hard to fight but Genma's techniques had prevailed. He prepare to dig the earth in order to find his wayward son and bring him back to the Tendos by the scruff of his neck.

"Foolish boy," said Genma satisfyingly and condescendingly. "I'm your father, I taught you all you know. You're a decade away from beating me."

"I don't think so," said a voice from around Genma.

Genma jumped in the air and whirled, trying to find the source of the voice. However, wherever he looked he couldn't find anything.

"You didn't teach me everything I know, you fat tub of lard," said the voice calmly.

Genma' eyes widened and he looked at the ground he had just destroyed. He recognized this deformed voice but it should be impossible! The boy should still be buried underground! The Nocturne Pack was impossible to avoid. How had he done it?

Jotaro suddenly appeared from thin air in front of him, making him jump in fright. There was only one way the boy could have done that...

"However, your Umisen-ken technique is impressive," said Jotaro idly. "It took me four tries to get it right. Even then, you didn't teach me. I learnt it by myself after seeing you do it."

The boy had learnt the Umisen-ken! It should have been impossible to learn it just like that! And given his confidence he probably knew all of its arcana. And he knew the Yamasen-ken as well. For the first time since the beginning of their fight, Genma knew fear. He had nothing left to attack Jotaro with since he had used all of his trump cards. Worse yet, not only had the boy countered all of them but he had also learnt them as well. Genma had no way to win now, except dumb luck, and he knew for a fact that luck had never been on his side.

Jotaro eyed Genma intently. As much as he despised the man, he had to admit that he was an excellent martial artist, probably one of the best in the world if the techniques he had used were of any indication. The Nocturne Pack would have been Jotaro's downfall, hadn't he used Star Platinum's Time Stop to gain time and used the Bakusai Tenketsu repeatedly to dig a tunnel that had allowed him to escape.

However, Genma didn't hold much respect in Jotaro's eyes. The panda was a manipulative greedy, conniving, lazy excuse of a father and only did something if it would profit him in some way. That was the only reason he had trained Ranma after all. He wanted to put his greedy paw on his dowry to live a comfortable retirement. He also professed a lot of things he didn't believe in. He had bothered Ranma on Honour when he had none himself. The best example was the Umisen-ken. He had said he had sealed the technique but had to have use it many times if he was that successful a burglar.

Jotaro saw the fear in Genma's eyes and decided to enact some revenge on Ranma's behalf.

"It's time I showed you what exactly I have learnt since your coma," he said threateningly. "First, the Bakusai Tenketsu."

He then jumped in front of Genma who jumped in fear and touched the ground with his finger. The ground instantly exploded. It should be noted that since the ground was a non-homogeneous volume of matter and that the Bakusai Tenketsu aimed in that case at separating the different parts of the ground from each other. The energy needed to force an explosion was greater than the one used on an homogeneous matter like stone. However, it could be done. Jotaro had mastered the attack on such a degree that he could perform it on sand.

Genma was showered by the shrapnel created by the Bakusai Tenketsu. It tore his clothes and gave him cuts an bruises on his whole body. He recoiled in shock under the unconventional attack. He looked panicked at where Jotaro was but didn't see him and it scared him even more.

"Second, the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken," said a voice behind him.

Genma didn't have time to react as Jotaro pummelled his back with more than four hundred strikes in one second, as he had used all of his limbs in what was to be known as a feat of order and coordination. Genma flew in the air due to the immense kinetic transfer that had occurred between Jotaro's limbs and him. His back screamed in agony as he felt that several of his vertebrae had been cracked. He pushed himself up with much difficulties and felt a terrible aura he hadn't felt for a long time. He slowly turned around.

"Lastly, the Neko-ken," said a demonic voice.

Jotaro was able to enter into the Neko-ken without the presence of a cat. It however took him twelve seconds of intense meditation. Genma gulped.

Ten metres away from him stood Jotaro, his body enshrouded in a blackish purple aura that streaked all over it. His nails were prolonged some even more blackish purple claws and his eyes exuded bloodlust. What terrified Genma the most was the fact that Jotaro wasn't hunched down on all four like he usually was under the Neko-ken. He was standing tall and menacing, not displaying any feline behaviour. That was the worst of it. He had managed to control the Neko-ken. With the insane power at his disposition, Genma could only hope for a quick defeat. His hopes of wining had totally disappeared since he couldn't even distract the boy since he didn't show any cat instincts. He was screwed and he knew it.

"Time to exact revenge for Ranma," growled Jotaro threateningly. And he struck.

Genma saw Jotaro swipe both of his hands at him and closed his eyes. Then pain took over him. His skin shredded in multiple places. Some pieces of it even fell from his body. His clothes were torn and bloody. He fell on the ground in unadulterated pain, reactivating the pain in his back.

Jotaro eyed him scornfully. He then _moved _at his side and kicked him strongly in the ribs, breaking three in the process and making him scream. He then grabbed him by his collar despite his grunts of pain.

"Let me tell you one thing," said Jotaro still under the influence of the Neko-ken. "I vanquished an Amazon Elder with three hundred years of experience. Compared to her you are nothing. Leave me alone for now. Each time I see you, I will hurt you more than the last time. Don't bother considering me like your son. I want nothing from you and nothing to do with you. If one of your schemes comes to bother me, I'm going to make you suffer. Remember that."

And with that he deactivated the Neko-ken and went away, leaving Genma to deal with his pain.

Genma remained on the ground in pain for about twenty minutes. He then managed to stand with difficulties and started to limp back to the Tendos. He hoped Soun would still take him despite his failure to bring his son back. The more he thought about it, the less likely it became that he could ever regain some form of control of the said son.

* * *

One week later, Genma had become the new family member of the Tendos. Soun had accepted him at his home, provided he worked as soon as he was healed. Genma had accepted with surprisingly little reluctance considering his chronic laziness. He had seemingly lost most of his spirit since his defeat against Jotaro. Akane had reported it to Jotaro who had remained sceptical about it. If he knew Genma, and he thought he knew him well, the man was just trying to plan something to rope him into one of his scheme. He had asked Akane to be careful and to avoid mentioning their friendship in the presence of Genma, lest he tried to marry them forcibly. Akane had taken it at heart and had threatened her father of leaving home from good if he mentioned it to Genma. Her father hadn't dared oppose her. She had also threatened her sisters to send Jotaro after them if they even breathed a word about it to Genma. It had worked better than expected. Her sisters hadn't dared to say anything.

Meanwhile Ryoga had mastered the Bakusai Tenketsu. He was currently hanging from the harness that had been used for the training. He was extremely proud of it. It had only taken him a week.

"Now that you mastered it, it's time for you to learn other techniques," said Cologne as she let him on the ground.

Ryoga sneered at her before scoffing.

"Who need some other training?" he said contemptuously. "With this new technique I'll easily be able to beat Ranma and Akane will be mine. Farewell, Granny."

And with that he was off. Cologne blinked for a second, a bit put off at having been disregarded like that. Then she remembered his terrible sense of orientation and ran after him.

"Wait, you can't hope to defeat Jotaro with just this attack!" she shouted uselessly. "I knew it and it didn't grant me victory."

Cologne screamed at the trees for some minutes, then, after noticing that she wouldn't have any response, she gave up.

"Fine!" she snarled angrily. "Go get yourself beaten! But don't count on me any more for training!"

* * *

Two days later, Jotaro was in her girl form in a forest near the place where Ryoga had learned the Bakusai Tenketsu. She had just finished precision training with the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. Her training had involved kicking a hornet's hive and defending herself against the hornets without killing them. For that she had had to grab them gently without crushing them between her fingers and release them away, slightly disorientating them with her ki. It had been difficult since she had to use the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken to fend of the swarms of hornets that were coming at her from all sides. She had killed a great number of them before managing to disorient them one by one using the Amazon technique. She had just finished it. It would have particularly useful uses, notably when dealing with shiatsu point or in conjunction with the Bakusai Tenketsu.

The next thing she planed to do was to use the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken in conjunction with the Kijin Raishu Dan, so as to be able to perform a wall of cutting void. It would be deadly. After that, she would probably try to work out the weakness of the Umisen-ken that obliged the user to shed the protective cloak before attacking. She wasn't sure that it could be done but it was worth a shot.

She suddenly felt a presence come. She had become quite good at detecting presences without her sight. The only ones who eluded her were Cologne, who knew how to prevent her vital energy from flooding an area, and Genma, who she knew could disappear totally, leaving her no choice but to rely on her vision to detect his presence. She identified the presence coming as Ryoga. She decided to wait for him, wondering how long it would take for him to attack her.

"Jotaro Kujo! There you are!" shouted Ryoga once he came in sight of her.

"What's up this time, Ryoga?" asked Jotaro neutrally.

"Today is the day I kill you," boasted Ryoga manically. "I have learnt a technique that will send you to your grave. Prepare to die! Bakusai Tenketsu!"

And with that he plunged his finger on a stone nearby Jotaro. The stone exploded and showered its neighbourhood with pieces of rock. Jotaro had escaped. She nodded appreciatively, noting that despite the terrible state his clothes were in Ryoga's skin was intact.

"Impressive," she commented. "You disrupt the fault line in solid matter, find its weakest point and overload it with ki, making it explode. An Amazon technique, unless I'm mistaken?"

"It is," gloated Ryoga. "And with that technique I'll tear you into little pieces!"

He dashed at Jotaro while pointing his finger at her, hoping to touch her and be finished once and for all with her. This time, however, Jotaro didn't move.

Ryoga's finger touched her skin and he was surprised to note that he couldn't penetrate it, despite the power behind his finger thrust. Worse, Jotaro didn't even explode. Ryoga eyed her aghast.

"Wha-What the hell?" he stammered. "Why didn't it work?"

"Didn't Cologne tell you that this technique didn't work on living moving beings, like animals or humans?" asked Jotaro rhetorically. "The offensive advantage of this technique is negligible in its basic form. The only reason why it is good to learn is the fact that it toughens the one who learns it beyond reason, making his skin extremely hard to pierce. Too bad for you."

"Shut up!" snarled Ryoga angry at having been ridiculed like that. "If I can't kill you directly with it, I will kill you with the shrapnel it creates since I'm immune to it. Bakusai Tenketsu!"

He pushed his finger into another rock besides Jotaro. This time again, Jotaro didn't move and was engulfed into the cloud of debris. Ryoga smirked victoriously. At least until the cloud dispersed and revealed a perfectly healthy Jotaro. Her skin was flawless and there wasn't even the slightest tear on her clothes, contrary to Ryoga's that were getting progressively more and more torn.

"What!" he shouted. "Why aren't you dead?"

"Didn't it occur to you that, since I knew so much about the Bakusai Tenketsu, I might know it too?" answered Jotaro. "I have mastered it to the point that the protection field it creates includes my clothes. And unlike you, I can use it on granular matter, like sand or the ground."

With these ominous words, Jotaro put her finger on the ground, which exploded, showering Ryoga with debris. It didn't hurt him in the slightest but it pushed him back.

"I can also make bigger explosions with it," added Jotaro. And she charged her finger with vital energy instead of ki before touching the ground once more in front of Ryoga.

The ground exploded again but this time it was way more impressive and pushed Ryoga even further. It also dizzied him given the sheer number of gravel that hit him. He coughed due to the dust and, for the first time since, well, ever, he eyed Jotaro fearfully.

"And I'll have you know," said Jotaro with finality. "It's not the only technique I learned since the last time you fought me. Let me show you an improvement I did on the Amazon's Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken."

Jotaro then infused herself with vital energy and _moved_ to where Ryoga was before she started to pummel him mercilessly with her second version of the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. Ryoga might have had the toughness due to the Bakusai Tenketsu training but even then he couldn't resist the onslaught of punches that pummelled him. As all the hits were directed to his stomach, he suffered from four broken ribs and started to vomit blood. He fell on the ground, gripping his belly due to the intense pain he was sustaining. Jotaro loomed over him and he let out a cry of fright.

"I could easily get rid of you once and for all," said Jotaro threateningly as Ryoga whimpered in fear. "It would be well within my rights given the amount of time you shouted threats of death at me and tried to kill me."

Ryoga started to shake out of fear and tried to get away from Jotaro. She, however, would have none of it. Her arms blurred and Ryoga felt his body lock totally, barely allowing him to breath. He was gripped with terror, now. It had never come to his mind that Jotaro could want him dead. Now that he was realising that it was a very real possibility, he was overcome with terror.

"The shiatsu points I locked your body with will dissipate in two hours or when your curse is activated, whichever comes first," pursued Jotaro in a deadly tone. "I want you to stop attacking me with the intent to kill. If you want a normal fight, I have nothing against it. But should you challenge me to another death match, I won't stop until you're dead for good. Remember that. And remember that I know the Full Body Cat Tongue. If you bother me too much, you'll never be able to touch hot water and to unlock your curse ever again."

And with that Jotaro left, leaving Ryoga with his fear for the first time of his life. It was a new state of mind for him. He had spent long periods of time I anger, depression, rage even. But fear was totally new to him and he realised that he didn't like it much.

He decided to avoid provoking Jotaro for now, at least not until he was strong enough to at least defeat him. But given the gap between them and Jotaro's progression speed, it was becoming less and less likely that Ryoga would ever reach Jotaro's level. He couldn't even go back to the Amazons to ask for help. Even he wasn't delusional enough to believe that they would help him again after the way he had treated them. If he really wanted to beat Jotaro and kill him, he was on his own. His only way to be with Akane was to seduce her normally since he couldn't beat Jotaro for now but he hadn't even the slightest idea about how to do that. Maybe he should get some information.

It was a very thoughtful two hours for Ryoga, even when Cologne found him and told him in no uncertain terms that he would be on his own for learning techniques. Ryoga didn't really care for her threats, though, even when she threatened him to use the Full Body Cat Tongue on him. He was way more scared of Jotaro than he was of Cologne.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said Jotaro to Akane. "You were kidnapped by a strange guy on a horse who wanted to marry you. He was a master of martial arts tea ceremony and was to marry a woman he didn't like. Am I right so far?"

Akane nodded.

"You thus had to learn martial arts tea ceremony and when the match with the promised came, it was a monkey" continued Jotaro. "You still tried to beat her even though the guy, Sentaro, was pissing you off by asking you to really marry him. It was a terribly difficult fight for you since you barely knew the arcana of tea ceremony. Still right?"

Akane nodded shamefully.

"You still won by the skin of your teeth and then Sentaro tried to marry you forcibly," concluded Jotaro. "While you were beating him into a pulp, a young woman arrived and revealed that she was his real fiancée but that she was so shy that she had sent her pet monkey at her place for the marriage. Sentaro and her finally decided to elope. Is that all?"

Akane sighed while she nodded. Jotaro eyed her strangely.

"You really should learn to pick your battles, Akane," said Jotaro patronizingly. "Your niceness will be your downfall one of these days. I have to admit that I have never heard of something so retarded. If I didn't know that there is something strange going on in Nerima I would have thought that you had invented it."

"Tell me about it," groaned Akane. "I though I was having a really fucked-up dream. At least I got to learn a few interesting things, like how to move with only your toes."

"Extremely useful," replied Jotaro sarcastically. "I can see a lot of occurrences when it will be of the utmost utility."

"Shut up," she growled. "I'm trying to find a silver lining to all this crap I went through."

Jotaro his usual neutral face but Akane could see the shadow of a smirk there.

* * *

A.N: After the monstrous chapter I posted the week before, this one seems extremely short. Oh, well. For those who were wondering, Shampoo's collar in the previous chapter is indeed from Battle Royale. And since some asked, I will tell you that it will be quite a while before the next Stand is seen. As for Stand battles, some will occur, mostly at the end, but I'm planning one or two for the middle of the story.


	10. Come Cover Me

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

WARNING: Contains lemon, including a Yaoi one (just like that I lost half of my readers...). If you don't like it, don't read it it is warded. There is a straight lemon just after, also warded (just like that I got back most of my readers, although the yaoi fans might want my head). I wanted to see what I could write. They probably aren't that good to begin with. The curse is too good an opportunity to pass up in these matters. For all the pervs out there, there will be a Yuri lemon in later chapters (Just like that I got a whole bunch of new readers, although the Yaoi fans are searching for my address to nuke me...). Flames on this matter will be used to light up my firecrackers (I have no use for a fireplace since I spend Christmas and the New Year Eve in Reunion Island, where the lowest temperature is about twenty-five centigrade degrees, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA).

IX) Come Cover Me

It was a Saturday noon and Mikoto had gone for a week to visit one of her friends in Osaka. Jotaro was currently meditating in the living-room. Truth be told, now that he hadn't a daughter to protect or friends to help he was feeling a bit lonely. Sure, he was friends with Akane but she was one of his only real friends, that was actually why he spent so much time with her. In his former world he had had a lot of friends and family to interact with. Here he only had Akane, Tofu and Mikoto as friends and he had no family to speak of. He had the hopes that Hayato would find him one day but he had to be realistic. He knew that the chances of Hayato finding him were abysmally small.

His other concern when it came to loneliness was finding a mate, be it a boyfriend or a girlfriend. He had had this problem since his divorce in his former world but hadn't done anything there out of respect for his still living wife and because he hadn't quit her because he fell out of love but out of necessity to protect his daughter. But now, she was dead, and he had mourned her enough. She had told him in his former world to pursue love if he found it but he had refrained for her. Now that she was dead, he didn't have this excuse any more. And if he was honest with himself, if he didn't find someone to share his life with, he would become as emotionless as his face customarily was. And he had seen where lack of attachment and ultimate power led. He just had to remember Dio Brando, Enrico Pucci, Yoshikage Kira and Diavolo. He didn't want to finish like that, it would betray the legacy he was carrying.

He decided that he had to find a mate. And since said mate wouldn't fall out of the sky to meet him, he would have to search for one himself. Which implied dating, an activity he was not particularly fond of but that would be necessary. He vowed to start this very day.

The bell rang.

...After he had answered the door that is.

Jotaro opened the door of the house and found a demure and plain looking long-haired girl clad in a blue kimono with an old looking man. Akane was behind them, looking at the scene with interest. It ticked Jotaro's sense.

"What are you doing here, Akane?" he asked without preamble and rather rudely given that two other persons were in front of him.

"Don't mind me," she said with a smile. "I'm just here to watch how the situation will be resolved, that's all."

Seeing that Akane had the smile of a child going to watch the fireworks, Jotaro deduced that he would probably have words with the two strangers and that he would have to drive them away. Akane curiously liked to see him crush people's hope, maybe she had some repressed sadistic tendencies. Jotaro felt a urge to kick Genma in the nuts. It was probably all his fault.

"What is it?" he sighed while addressing to the strangers.

"Greetings, young man," said the old man. "My name is Hikaru Daikokuji and this is my daughter, Kaori."

"Charmed," said Jotaro neutrally while still not inviting them inside, which kind of put the two Daikokujis off while Akane got a slight grin. Trust Jotaro to put people in an uncomfortable situation. "What do you want?"

"Well, you see, twelve years ago, your father, Genma Saotome, proposed in exchange of a bowl of rice and two pickles that his son be engaged to my daughter. I accepted and we are here to fulfil this honourable promise," said the old man with a wide smile.

He stopped there and eyed Jotaro expectantly while Kaori eyed him demurely. Akane was visibly trying very hard not to laugh.

"Nice," Jotaro said drolly. "And this concerns me, how?"

This actually surprised the old man and his daughter. They had expected to be rebuked but not like that.

"Well, you are Saotome's son," replied Kaori. "So you have to marry me. It is a matter of honour!"

Akane let a laugh out. The two Daikokujis eyed her strangely before turning to Jotaro. To their surprise, he was holding an identity card.

"It appears that you have been intentionally mistaken by Genma," Jotaro told them neutrally. "I most certainly am not Ranma Saotome. My real name is Jotaro Kujo."

Kaori and her father blinked before Kaori grabbed the identity card. Sure enough, the name on it was Jotaro's, as well as the photograph and the finger-prints. Jotaro took back the card from a flabbergasted Kaori.

"Satisfied?" he asked.

"But... But Saotome told us you lived here," stammered Kaori's father.

"And you believed him?" snorted Jotaro. "He just didn't want to admit that his son was dead and since I'm his exact twin he has taken to redirect his problems on me. If you have a problem, talk it through with Genma. It doesn't concern me at all."

"But, if you're his twin, then you could marry me," said Kaori with no small amount of hope in her voice. Jotaro was rather dashing after all.

"Not interested," replied Jotaro. "Now I believe you're finished, so get out of this house."

"You can't renounce to this pledge," shouted Kaori's father. "It's a matter of honour!"

He was suddenly faced with the barrel of a Pancor Jackhammer, arguably the most powerful shotgun ever created. He started to sweat. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Genma's boy was supposed to protest a little before caving in at the knowledge of his influence and wealth. He was supposed to be the one doing the threatening part and not in a lethal fashion!

"What part of "This doesn't concern me" and "Deal with Genma" don't you understand?" growled Jotaro.

"Foolish boy!" screamed Kaori's father frantically due to the fear. "Do you know how influential and wealthy I am? I could make life very difficult for you."

"Your influence and wealth won't help you once you're dead," replied Jotaro seriously. "So go away and deal with Genma before I shoot at you."

Kaori's father walked shakily backwards with his terrorised daughter. Akane was currently sporting a manic grin on her face.

"This isn't over," he said feebly.

"Of course it is," retorted Jotaro. "Your case wouldn't hold in court and you know that. That's why you tried this intimidation tactic through honour. Too bad for you I don't believe in honour."

"I'll sue you for threat with a weapon," he snarled.

"This weapon isn't even known to any army, it's an original creation," Jotaro shot back. "Who would believe you when you describe it? Besides..." His hands blurred and the weapon disappeared. "Nobody will ever find it. Who would believe you without proof? And if you're thinking of buying the judges I can pay them more than you and I'm friends with several people in the secret services. I could have you disappear extremely quick. So get lost, and don't come back."

Jotaro entered into the Neko-ken. This finished scaring off the Daikokujis. They ran to their car and went away extremely quickly. Jotaro immediately deactivated the Neko-ken. Akane was rolling on the floor laughing.

"Satisfied with the show?" he asked neutrally to Akane, although there was a mixture of sarcasm, exasperation and mirth in his tone, Akane could tell. She managed to curb her laughing.

"Very," she said. "I should go back. I want to participate to the take-out race these two are organizing in Nerima. Shampoo will be there too. And this Kaori girl has an entire form of martial arts devoted to it so it should be interesting."

"You don't have anything put on the line, do you?" asked Jotaro.

"Nothing but my pride," replied Akane. "And it wouldn't damage it much if I lost. You taught me well. After all, if the Daikokujis have organized it, chance are that Kaori is set to win it."

"Good. Well, I'm of in Tokyo," said Jotaro. "I'm going to try and pick up a date."

Jotaro went away, a bit vexed at Akane's gales of laughter. The girl was on the ground, doubled over. What he had said wasn't that funny, was it?

* * *

Two hours later, Jotaro finally understood why Akane had laughed so much and he was starting to agree with her. His skills at picking up men or women were abysmal. Maybe he was expecting too much of it.

He had actually been accosted by several girls while he was walking around in Tokyo. However, he had immediately understood that these girls were just after him for his looks. The way they looked at him was strangely reminiscing of the way girls looked at him at school. He hadn't thought too much on that but it seemed that many a girl at school lusted after him. It was probably his reputation as someone dangerous that scared them off. Only Akane approached him but she didn't like him like that and he didn't like her like that. To him she was his student above all. Besides, she still loved Tofu, Jotaro knew that and didn't want to go between the two of them.

The fact was, Jotaro wanted to be appreciated for something besides his looks. He knew he was dashing in Ranma's body so he had this luxury. He wanted any love he gave to be somewhat meaningful, not just a superficial tryst. He could easily be a womaniser but he just wasn't built like that. Probably a reminiscence from his first teenage years when he was pestered by girls because of his looks. It had disgusted him and still disgusted him now. He just couldn't love somebody based on appearances, he had to find someone whose character he liked. He had thought of going on as a girl but he knew that guys usually weren't better than girls. So he was currently sunk in his endeavour.

As he walked into Juuban, he noticed a commotion in a nearby alley. Seeing as people avoided it like the plague and noticing that there weren't any cops nearby, he decided to investigate.

He found four guys ganging up on a fifth. The guy that was being ganged upon was at least as tall as Jotaro was, which was to say not that much. He had short curly blond hair and was rather lean. He was very finely dressed, with form fitting jeans and a grey ans blue shirt. He had very delicate features, making him look almost effeminate but with a hard edge that made him extremely manly, maybe because it contrasted with his features.

"So what'd you gotta say for yerself, faggot?" growled the leader of the attackers threateningly while holding the blonde by his collar.

The four attackers were looking like nondescript thugs, one of them having a tattooed arm, the other having piercing, the third having a punk crest and the leader being a tall and muscled skinhead. They wore uniforms from a local high school in various states of disrepair. But Jotaro didn't linger on their features. It was the blonde who was interesting him. Despite being visibly overwhelmed and obviously not strong enough to escape them, he still had a proud and defiant attitude. He hadn't broken and Jotaro respected that since he had a feeling that it would take quite a lot to make him break. He decided to intervene.

"I don't know whether he is a faggot or not but you're the ones who are attacking him four on one," commented Jotaro idly. "If that's not a proof of your common lack of manliness I don't know what it is."

The thugs stopped harassing the blonde and turned to Jotaro, surprised that someone was apostrophizing them. They eyed him dumbly for a minute before the leader worked out what Jotaro had said and became visibly indignant.

"Did you call us faggots?" he growled menacingly.

"If you haven't understood what I exactly said then you're dumber than I thought," replied Jotaro casually. "To answer you I didn't call you faggots. It would have been an insult to all faggots. You're actually way less manly than them. But you actually realised that I have insulted you, maybe there's hope for you yet."

The thugs brittled. Nobody called them unmanly. _Nobody_. One of them took a knife from his pocket and charged at Jotaro while screaming.

"Watch out!" shouted the blonde at Jotaro. Jotaro didn't move.

The thug with the knife, the one with the punk crest, suddenly crashed into something solid and felt the handle of his knife bury into his stomach. Breath stolen, he looked at what had happened.

Jotaro had just held his forefinger in the path of the knife, stopping it at its tip and making its handle bury into the thug's stomach. The thug eyed him gob-smacked, then stepped back and tried to slash at Jotaro with his knife. Jotaro blocked the knife with his finger again. The Bakusai Tenketsu was decidedly extremely useful.

"What're ye doin'?" growled the leader. "Don't be a goddam fuckin' fag and slash him."

"I'm tryin'! I'm tryin'," shrieked the thug frantically. "It don't work!"

At that moment, Jotaro's hand snaked out and caught the knife faster than the thugs could see. He then held it in front of him so all the thugs could see it and calmly put his fingers in an alternate manner around the blade, one above, one under. When it was done, he looked at the thugs, smiled cruelly and tightened his hand. The blade broke in three places due to the force exerted by his fingers, leaving four parts that fell on the ground under the flummoxed gaze of the thugs and the blonde. The blond was simply awed while the thugs started getting scared. He then grabbed the punk thug by his head, holding him above the ground and not moving despite the strikes the thug hit him with. He then threw him with great force in the leader's belly, cutting his breath and making the both of them fly over three metres before the leader's head met a wall and crashed into it. The leader and the punk fell on the ground, clearly unconscious. The two last punks were now shaking like leaves at Jotaro's casual display of strength. Jotaro eyed them with a murderous gaze.

"Leave," he said stonily with a deformed voice that he knew how to reproduce from the Neko-ken state while he flared his aura. "Leave and take your friends with you. Should I ever see you again, you'll regret it."

The two remaining thugs needn't be told twice and flew as fast as they could, dragging their comrades with them.

Jotaro released his techniques and looked at the blond with his usual gaze. However, the blond noticed traces of concern in this gaze and sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?" asked Jotaro.

"I'm fine, thanks to you mister..." he started to thank Jotaro.

"Kujo. Jotaro Kujo," replied Jotaro neutrally but with a hint of kindness that the blond detected. "And you are?"

"Furuhata. Motoki Furuhata," answered the blond. " I really have to thank you, Jotaro. I was putting a brave front, but there wasn't much I could do against them."

"You just didn't know what," countered Jotaro. "No strength is needed to take down punks like that, even when they outnumber you. You just have to have a few basic notions in self defence."

"I unfortunately have none," sighed Motoki. "I wouldn't know what to do."

Jotaro eyed him for a second before making his decision.

"If you have one or two hours free, I can show you some parts of it," he said. "You won't be able to take on experienced fighters but after I show you what to do, encounters of the kind you just had shouldn't be a problem to you."

Motoki eyed him, wondering what he was gaining from it. Then he saw it. It was well-hidden but there was a hint of hesitancy. That decided him. Jotaro had obviously no nefarious hidden motive. He was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, maybe he was hoping to start a friendship. He didn't seem like the type to make friends easily. That someone that incredible might want his friendship make Motoki happy.

"Sure, I'd be happy to," he said. "I have nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon. Let's go to the park nearby. I'll even offer you a cup of coffee."

"Let's go then," said Jotaro in what Motoki managed to detect as a happy tone. "Lead the way, I'm not from Juuban."

They went to the park where Motoki bought Jotaro a can of coffee from a vending machine. He also bought one for himself and they sat down on a bench. While they were drinking their coffees, Jotaro started his theory on self-defence.

"The first thing you have to remember," started to explain Jotaro, "is that in self-defence you are acting in self-defence, as the name says. This means that you are legally allowed everything you deem necessary to help you get out of the attack, even killing your attacker. You probably won't ever need to go there but it is always good to remember. There are no restrictions when acting in self-defence. Strikes that you would consider as immoral or too dangerous can be used in this case..."

Jotaro spent the next two hours explaining and demonstrating his interpretation of self-defence to Motoki, showing him how to perform the moves, including disarming an opponent, using his own clothing against him, inflicting crippling blows, breaking bones and disrupting joints. Jotaro was a firm believer in the notion that if violence didn't solve one's problem, it would be because one didn't use enough. Violent as it might be, Motoki had to admit that it was effective. They had been attracting a small crowd that was eyeing the lesson with a non-disguised interest. By the end of the lesson, Motoki was confident that he could get out of any sticky situation not involving firearms, although Jotaro had shown him how to block handguns at point blank range.

"Well the lesson is over," simply said Jotaro. "Want to eat something in the little café outside of the park?"

"Sure," replied Motoki as he noticed the hopeful glint into Jotaro's eyes. "My treat. It's the least I can do after you taught me so much."

They went to the café where they ate while speaking inanely. Jotaro learnt more about Motoki's studies at college and Motoki was surprised to learn that Jotaro was still a high school student despite being easily able to pass several thesis with success. At one point of the conversation, they came back to the altercation they had had with the punks.

"You got them good with what you said to them about insulting homosexuals," laughed Motoki.

"I was being totally serious," countered Jotaro with what Motoki identified as total seriousness.

Motoki stopped talking and eyed Jotaro with almost hopeful, albeit confused, look.

"You really were?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Jotaro. "I had two homosexual friends before. They were totally open with it but it didn't prevent them from having a courage that was difficultly paralleled and more guts than they actually needed. They showed me, as well as several others, that one's worth wasn't determined by one's sexual orientation. I have yet to find more than fifteen people more manly and courageous than them. I'm actually currently unsure about my sexual orientation but it wouldn't bother me if I were gay."

The finality in Jotaro's tone impressed Motoki. He decided to reveal him what had been eating him for some time.

"Well," he started, "when this thug called me a homosexual, it bothered me on a non-negligible level. Not because he was wrong, mind you. Not even because he was right and that I had been discovered easily. No, what bothered me was the fact that I actually am not sure about whether he was right or wrong."

Jotaro eyed him intently.

"You're like me then?" he asked carefully. "You're not sure of your sexual orientation?"

"Pretty much," replied Motoki with shame and a bit of anguish in his tone. "It's been bothering me to no end. I would like to find love but I don't know where to search."

"You could just be bisexual," advanced Jotaro. "Have you ever thought about that?"

"I have thought about it," answered Motoki sullenly. "Again, I'm not sure. I find both men and women attractive enough but would I go all the way with either of them? What if I make a mistake in my choice?"

Jotaro thought about it for two seconds before he made his decision.

"Want to find out?" he asked.

Motoki almost jumped. He then eyed Jotaro with a lost look.

"What?" he asked, afraid but hopeful.

"I'm proposing that we sleep together so that we both try to find our sexual identity, without strings attached, whether it goes well or not. If you don't want to, I'll still remain your friend but I'll never make such an offer to you ever again. It's your choice."

Motoki remained frozen for some time. Just when Jotaro thought he wouldn't take him on his offer, Motoki took his hand.

"I-I would like to try," he stammered, becoming very red.

Jotaro didn't say anything. A smile made its way to his lips. He rose up.

"Let's find a room," he just said. Motoki rose up and followed him shyly but with a spring in his steps.

* * *

"Are you sure that you don't want me to pay for the room?" asked Motoki as they entered the hotel room.

They had taken one with two king-sized beds so as not to arouse suspicion among the hotel staff. They might have been willing to sleep together but they didn't want to advertise it to the whole world unless they were sure of themselves, which they currently weren't, even Jotaro.

"Totally sure," replied Jotaro. "Unless you happen to be one of the hundred wealthiest people of the world, I'm richer than you. Not all my money is legal, mind you, so you won't find me in the list of the wealthiest people, but all of it is moral."

"Oh," said Motoki a bit surprised. He hadn't pegged Jotaro for a rich man. He was so young after all. But then again, when it came to Jotaro, looks were deceiving.

"There is one thing I have to tell you that might surprise you, so I would like you to listen to me carefully," said Jotaro seriously.

"I'm listening," said Motoki a bit apprehensively. What if Jotaro had a strange fetish that would disgust him? But then he owed him so he would at least listen. Jotaro didn't seem like the type to force people despite his strength.

"There is a valley in China called Jusenkyo," started Jotaro, while going into the bathroom. "It is composed of one hundred and eight pools which are said to be cursed. Whoever falls into one of these pools takes the form of the last creature to have drowned into the pool when touched by cold water. Fortunately, hot water is said to revert the curse."

Jotaro came back from the bathroom with two glasses of water, one cold and one hot. He put them on a table.

"Interesting story," said Motoki still on edge. "But what's the point with what you have to say."

Jotaro removed his trenchcoat and his coat. He then took the glass of hot water.

"Magic exists, Motoki," he said simply, and he emptied the glass of water on himself.

The change came and in place of the muscled raven-haired boy was a busty red-haired girl, her assets emphasized by the tightness of her shirt. Whatever Motoki had been expecting, it wasn't that. To say that he was flummoxed was an understatement. He was literally floored and had to grip the table to remain standing. He then regain some countenance and eyed Jotaro's with wide eyes. To Jotaro's relief, there wasn't rejection in his eyes, only interest and surprise.

"Is it real?" managed to ask Motoki.

"Totally," replied Jotaro casually. "I went to a gynaecologist and learnt that the change is total. I'm a full-fledged woman in this form. I'm every transvestite's dream. I change sexes totally depending on the temperature of water."

She then grabbed the glass of water and poured it on herself. Her male form was immediately there. Motoki eyed him with his eyes still wide. He then realised something.

"When you said you wanted to sleep with me," he asked, "which of your forms were you talking about?"

"Both, actually," answered Jotaro. "I wasn't lying. I actually am not sure about my sexual identity. This body is the major reason why. Am I gay, lesbian, a straight man, a straight woman or a combination of several of the above? I don't know and I want to find out."

Motoki became giddy with excitement. Few people could pretend to try the two facets of male sexuality with the same person.

"Which form do you want to start with?" he asked.

"Let's start with this one," answered Jotaro. "I'm already in it."

***Yaoi lemon start***

Motoki tentatively approached Jotaro and started kissing him on the lips. Jotaro kissed back. It wasn't bad, not that different from kissing a girl. Jotaro concluded that it was the presence of sentiments that made any kiss worthwhile. He hadn't felt anything when Shampoo had kissed him. Now he felt as if his lips were melting and as if his body was on fire. Unless he was mistaken Motoki was feeling the same thing given the frenzy with which he was devouring Jotaro's lips and trying to swallow his tongue. Jotaro felt his manhood start to rise and strain his pants. He noticed that Motoki was suffering from the same problem.

Motoki's hands quit Jotaro's back, where they had been lingering, and started to unbutton his shirt. Not wanting to be left behind, Jotaro did the same at an excruciatingly slow speed. He let his hands trail on Motoki's lean torso, teasing his nipples slightly and making him shiver. Jotaro then released Motoki's lips, much to said boy's disappointment as he released a sigh of longing. Said sigh quickly changed into a gasp of pleasure as Jotaro's lips closed on his left nipple. Jotaro started to suckle on Motoki's nipple, making the blonde moan loudly in delight. Said blonde decided to take some form off revenge for all the pleasurable sensations and liberated Jotaro of the shirt he had managed to unbutton, revealing his extremely defined but still harmonious musculature before fondling both of his nipples. Jotaro moaned loudly, Motoki's nipple still in his mouth, making the boy arch his head in pleasure. He decided to try something and twisted both of Jotaro's nipples.

Jotaro felt a rush of pleasure come to him and bit Motoki's nipple lightly due to the surprising sensation. Motoki screamed in pleasure under the onslaught of pleasure that assaulted him and almost came in his pants. He managed to stop, though. To calm himself, he grabbed Jotaro's head, making him leave his nipple regretfully, and mashed his lips against Jotaro's kissing him feverishly.

He didn't exactly manage to calm himself but he wasn't on the verge of exploding any more.

He then started to undo the string on Jotaro's pants and pulled them down. He then reached into Jotaro's pants and grabbed his impressive manhood, making Jotaro whimper. He pulled Jotaro's boxers down, revealing his manhood. Jotaro hadn't measured exactly but he knew his dick was at least twenty centimetres long and four centimetres wide, even bigger than when he was still in his older body despite being thirty centimetres taller then. Ranma really deserved his name. Wild Horse indeed.

Being subjected to a new stimulation, Jotaro decided to even the field and unbuttoned Motoki's jeans at a record pace. He dragged them down along with Motoki's boxers. Motoki was relatively well endowed for such a lean boy, only two centimetres shorter than Jotaro but a bit thicker. Jotaro didn't lose time and started to stroke him as soon as he grabbed him. Motoki let out a hiss of pleasure in Jotaro's mouth. Jotaro pushed him until they reached the bed and pushed him on it, leaning at his side. Not one during the process had each other released the other's lips or manhood.

Side by side, Jotaro and Motoki stroked one another repeatedly for a few minutes. Jotaro was in heaven. It had been eleven years since he last had some remotely sexual activity and he was on fire due to sensations he thought he had forgotten. How he had longed for such feelings. Motoki was himself in heaven. He hadn't known that sex was so great. He didn't feel he would be able to stop. He then got an impish idea.

He released Jotaro's lips, much to the latter's displeasure. However, Jotaro's disappointment didn't last long as Motoki engulfed his member into his mouth. He gasped explosively at the hot sensation he felt around his manhood and almost released Motoki's. As Motoki pumped on his shaft, Jotaro tried his hardest not to come and it was taking most of his concentration as he grunted in pleasure under Motoki's ministrations. Once he had managed to steady himself and breathe normally again, he decided to get even. He moved around and took Motoki's shaft in his mouth, gobbling it in and out and sucking on it like a lollipop (at least he thought it was like that, he had never actually eaten a lollipop). Motoki almost howled but it was muffled by Jotaro's member. Jotaro knew before that being on the receiving end of fellatio was good but he hadn't suspected before that he would feel that great while giving one.

The two lovers continued their ministrations for about ten minutes before Jotaro took the lead. He put Motoki on his back, member proudly rising in the air. Motoki eyed him in anticipation. Jotaro squatted above him, facing him. Then, hesitantly, he impaled himself on the blonde's shaft.

While Motoki gasped explosively at the tightness of Jotaro's orifice, Jotaro sucked in a deep breath. It was a little painful but, thanks to his lubrication of Motoki's member, it slid in easily. The sensation was alien to Jotaro as he had never felt it before. He focused and filtered the slight pain he felt. Once he had done that he felt the pleasure. It was not very noticeable at first and if he hadn't filtered the pain he wouldn't have felt it but it was there. And it slowly built up. Jotaro was feeling it more and more while he was rising and falling on Motoki's manhood, until it became a raging pyre of pleasure. Jotaro accelerated his movement, although he avoided using his speed technique so as not to hurt Motoki. He was riding the wave of pleasure, waiting for it to roll and disperse, wondering how high the wave would tower until it crashed.

Suddenly, Motoki's manhood convulsed as he howled in pleasure, becoming bigger. At least it was what it felt to Jotaro. The conjunction of Motoki's orgasm and his own pleasure made Jotaro come. While Motoki's semen filled his bowels, Jotaro's own flew from his rock hard member and landed on Motoki's torso. Jotaro's shaft convulsed a few more times, releasing some more of the white viscous fluid on Motoki's abdomen. Then Jotaro rose up a little, releasing Motoki's now limp organ from his innards, and collapsed on Motoki's form, exhausted but content.

Motoki was too. They recovered for a few minutes, regaining their breath, Jotaro lying on Motoki's form. Then they wordlessly started their sinful activities again, Motoki being the one riding Jotaro this time, until they climaxed again. Then they rested side by side, content and blissful.

***Yaoi lemon end***

Jotaro opened his eyes and eyed Motoki's naked figure. He felt content, content in ways he hadn't felt since his divorce. As for Motoki, he was feeling at the peak of happiness. The physical part of love was everything her had ever dreamt of and then more. He was now pretty sure that he wouldn't mind being gay. This night had to have been the best in his life and from what he could say it ha to be Jotaro's best too.

"I have just spent the best night in my life," he said turning to Jotaro. "Thank you. Thank you for this wonderful night."

Jotaro gained an impish smile.

"Who said this night was over?" he smirked. "You still have my female form to try to make love to. That is, if you want to."

Motoki's eyes widened and he gained an impressive smile.

"I find myself extremely excited by the idea," he admitted.

"Go take a shower, then," replied Jotaro with one of his rare smiles. "I'll go after you."

Motoki needn't be told twice and sauntered to the bathroom. Before he entered, he turned one last time towards Jotaro.

"You know," he said smiling, "you are devastatingly handsome when you smile. I'm sure you are downright gorgeous when you do so in your girl form."

With that he went into the bathroom to get rid of the traces of their lovemaking, leaving a somewhat flustered Jotaro. He wasn't used to being complemented on his looks.

Motoki exited the bathroom four minutes later, clad only with a towel around his waist. Jotaro took his place in the bathroom. After a quick hot shower, he turned on the cold water and changed into his red-haired female form.

Motoki was unconsciously becoming frantic while waiting for Jotaro. He hadn't lied when he had said that he was excited by this but he was still becoming nervous. If he was so great at loving a guy, wouldn't it mean that he would suck at making love to a girl? It was a stupid frame of reasoning and he knew it but he couldn't stop worrying about it. He was human after all. He heard the bathroom door open and turned towards it. His nervousness immediately disappeared, replaced by awe and a healthy amount of lust.

Jotaro was standing in the doorway in very feminine and lacy underwear. She was wearing translucent red silk stockings with a green and lacy garter belt, a lacy green semi translucent thong that revealed a neatly trimmed patch of pubic hair that clearly showed that her hair colour was natural and a translucent strapless green bra that revealed how aroused she was given the way her nipple tented it. She had released her hair from her trademark pigtail and was letting it flow over her shoulders and back. She wore a smile that radiated on her lovely face and was taking a pose that emphasized her assets, starting from her thin legs, then her round butt that was neither too big nor too small, on which she had a carelessly lying hand that held itself lasciviously on her roundness, then her taut, firm stomach that looked toned from exercise, then her breasts, which she framed with a remaining arm, her hand trying to hide a nipple but revealing it lewdly, then her slender neck which was at an angle, giving her an interrogative pose, finally her pretty face with her pulpy lips, her small nose and her big round blue eyes that were sending a vaporous 'come hither' look. All in all, she was a deadly combination of loveliness and sexiness, with a hint of innocence and a large part of wanton lust.

Motoki was shell-shocked at the vision of heaven that had graced his gaze. He became strangely self-conscious, despite knowing what he had done to her not fifteen minutes before, and was wondering what good he had done in his previous life to deserve this. He tried to find something to say but didn't manage to say anything but what flew through his mind at this instant.

"You look sooooo beautiful," he trailed, then his brain caught up with his tongue and he asked what was intriguing him. "Where the hell did you find such garments?"

"Trade secret," replied Jotaro with a knowing smile.

She then slithered to Motoki, her body undulating in ways that were doing very interesting things to her bust and derrière. She arrived near him and he gulped, frozen in shock and awe. He hadn't expected the extremely manly Jotaro to behave so erotically as a girl. Then he saw something in her eyes that squashed his nervousness: she hid it very well but she was nervous too. She had decided to hide it to make him more comfortable. He decided to repay her for all of the kindness she had shown him and grabbed her and put her on his knees, not in a sexual manner, just holding her to reassure her. Jotaro didn't show it but she was surprised and more than a little relieved at this turn of event. She had been scared at what was to come. It was a first for her after all. Motoki kissed her temple, making her melt in his arms.

"You're scared, aren't you?" asked Motoki gently. Jotaro hid her surprise at having been found out.

"And you're more observant than you let on," Jotaro shot back. "What betrayed me?"

"Don't know exactly, something in your eyes maybe," replied Motoki. "What matters is that I knew and decided to do something about it. We certainly won't do anything you're scared of, no matter how much I want to. So let's talk."

Something in the way he said it, a mix of gentleness and firmness that didn't take no for an answer broke Jotaro's resistance.

"You'll have to suspend your disbelief to understand what has gotten over me," she started. "I was born in 1972 but not in this body. I died once in 2012..."

And Jotaro told him the most complete version of her life she had ever told anybody in this universe. Even Mikoto didn't know everything in what she said to Motoki. She still didn't tell him about her Stand's final ability since it didn't matter much in the story. She even demonstrated her Stand, making it lift the bed they were on to show its strength, although Motoki didn't exactly need help believing in her. Knowing that magic did exist, he was willing to believe everything and he was sure that Jotaro wouldn't lie to him. After listening to the whole story, which took several hours, he finally understood Jotaro's dilemma.

"If I understand correctly, it's because you are extremely powerful that you take all the problems you face on your shoulders, even though they don't concern you," explained Motoki. "You're fundamentally nice, and that's your bane, seeing as you can't help everybody."

"I'm not nice," countered Jotaro. "You should have seen what I've done to some people in Nerima."

"You're nice to the people whom you believe deserve it, and that's more than the vast majority of mankind," Motoki shot back. "Most people would have left me rot with the thugs a few hours ago, even though they had the means to do something. You decided to help me, and for that you can be considered a modern-day hero. To come back to our subject, you are so powerful that you are used to dealing with your fears by facing them. You're so used to it that you decided to apply your usual method to a very different fear. Because you fear your first time as a girl, don't you?"

"I'm extremely afraid of it," admitted Jotaro. "I might be extremely expectant when it comes to it but my first time as a girl leaves me apprehensive for reasons I can't even fathom. It can't be about the pain, I broke my hymen long ago through training."

Motoki suddenly kissed her on the lips. It wasn't a hungry one like the ones they had exchanged before but a very gentle one, one with which Motoki poured all of the love he could muster into Jotaro. Jotaro whimpered in delight, as she hadn't felt such a gentle kiss since before her divorce. After a minute or two, Motoki released her lips, much to Jotaro's longing, which surprised her. She felt way less afraid.

"Your nervousness might come from being a girl this time," suggested Motoki. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, girl conceive physical love in a different manner than guys. To them, it's less a way to act on their instincts and more a proof of love. Hence the fear you feel. You're just more of a girl than you thought."

"Is that why it partially vanished when you kissed me so gently?" asked Jotaro after a few seconds of reflection.

"That's probably why," answered Motoki carefully. "And that probably has to do with something you haven't envisioned. Girls rely on their partner to face their fear of the first time. It's just a fear you couldn't face by yourself this time. You needed help from me."

Motoki sent her a look so full of love that it shattered Jotaro's fears. It wouldn't be meaningless and it was what he had always wanted to find in physical love, something that wasn't purely physical. It firmed her resolve.

"I understand myself more thanks to you," she said softly with gratitude. "And I now know I'm ready."

Wordlessly, Motoki lied down on the bed, taking her with him and putting her over him.

***Straight lemon start***

Their bodies started to intermingle, Motoki having put his legs over Jotaro's. Their bodies started to grind into one another, waking up many sensitive zones Jotaro didn't even know she had. Then Motoki's hand started to trail on her back and Jotaro literally purred. She had known that it could feel good but didn't know how much until now. She literally melted into Motoki under the pleasure she felt at his ministrations. Then he kissed her again.

It started gently, like the one he had just given her, but with the effect his caresses had on her it soon evolved. Soon, their tongues were fighting a battle between their mouths while their lips suckled on one another. Jotaro started to whimper into Motoki's mouth as she felt her nipples harden even more under the pleasure she felt and she started to grind them on Motoki's torso, eliciting new pleasures in her and making Motoki shiver in delight. Jotaro felt something swell inside her, heating her core and making her nether regions wet. She identified it as wanton desire and decided to go on with the flow and to act on it.

She released Motoki's lips and tongue, to his disappointment as she heard when he sighed longingly. It didn't last long as she started to trail light kisses over his jaw. She went up to his ear and suckled on it, making Motoki shiver when she bit him lightly. She then kissed his neck and sucked strongly on it, leaving a mark.

Meanwhile, Motoki had let his hands wander on Jotaro's magnificent and barely covered buttocks, fondling them with restless abandon. When Jotaro started to suckle on his ear, he left only one hand on her derrière, bringing the other to her flimsily covered breasts and fondling one, making her moan in delight. She let him fondle her breasts and tease her nipples for a few minutes before she took both of his hands and put them over his head, immobilizing them.

"Let me try something," she said in a tone that left no place for negotiations. Motoki complied, not really minding.

Jotaro trailed kisses and caresses down Motoki's torso, leaving suckling marks and spending a few minutes kissing and biting his nipples while he moaned in delight. She then went down again, kissing her way down his belly and tickling his bellybutton lightly, making him chuckle. She then arrived to the towel that was still covering his privates and literally torn it of his body, revealing his rock hard manhood to the world.

It had seemed impressive before. Now that she was a head smaller and that her hands were only covering two thirds of the surface they originally did, it looked bigger than ever. However, it didn't stop Jotaro and she grabbed it with both hands. She could barely cover half of its length that way and she started to stroke it slowly but firmly. Motoki hissed with pleasure at her ministrations and his breathing became ragged. He looked down and saw Jotaro looking at him in the eye with a penetrating look while she let her hands rub his shaft up and down. After a few minutes of this treatment, she eyed Motoki's member contemplatively before taking a few licks on it that made Motoki's whole body spasm. After these first licks, she eyed him in the eye and took his cock in her small mouth.

Motoki let a cry of pleasure at the hot sensation that engulfed his penis. He started to pant as Jotaro's mouth ran up and down his cock and wondered where she managed to put it given the smallness of her mouth. Meanwhile, Jotaro was getting excited, which actually surprised her. She had thought that female arousal due to fellatio was an invention of porn authors but it seemed that there was something to it as she was getting extremely aroused. After her initial surprise at taking such a large member between her lips, she submitted to her desire and stated to gobble up and down on it. She took it extremely far, going as far as taking it down her throat fully, her lips at its base, while she sucked strongly on it and making Motoki cry in delight. She then released it for a moment and ran her tongue up and down it a few times before she resumed her sucking. She then had an idea she impishly implemented while eyeing Motoki in a predatory way that made him shiver.

She unclasped her bra and threw it away, revealing her creamy breasts to Motoki. She then released his manhood from her lips before shooting him an impish smile. She took her breasts between her hands and engulfed Motoki's shaft between them. She then started to lift them up and down on said shaft, eyeing Motoki sexily all the while. Motoki was first surprised and agreeably pleasured by the softness of Jotaro's breasts but was soon extremely aroused by the friction they provided, putting him on the bring of ejaculation. Jotaro's sexy smoky gaze didn't help him in that matter. He had to warn her.

"Jotaro," he grunted with difficulty. "I'm going to come..."

"Do it," she answered out of breath. And she took the tip of his manhood between her lips before sucking strongly on it.

Motoki gasped audibly and exploded in Jotaro's mouth, filling it with semen. Jotaro took it all within her mouth before releasing his cock with a sucking sound. She then let some of the come trail on her chin and fall on her breasts before wiping it with her fingers and sucking it loudly with her semen-filled mouth. She then opened her mouth for Motoki to see what he had produced before closing it and gulping loudly. When she opened her mouth again, there was nothing left in it that didn't belong.

Motoki breathed loudly at the otherworldly sexy experience he had just lived through. He eyed Jotaro tiredly.

"I'd say that you're not scared any more," he said between gulps of air.

"Indeed," replied Jotaro happily. She then thought for a second before saying: "I guess we'll have to rest before continuing. I wore you out."

She then started to rise but was surprised when Motoki grabbed her before shoving her on the bed and climbing over her, effectively trapping her under him.

"You think I'll let you?" he said in a fake threatening tone. "I have to get my revenge on you."

Then, without preamble, he kissed her wantonly. He started by kissing her full on her mouth before trailing kisses all over her face and neck and making her moan. He then kissed his way down, letting bite marks over her neck. He then reached her boobs and marvelled at their roundness, firmness, whiteness and size. They looked perfect to him. He took them both in his hands, massaging them, and started to lavish them with kisses, occasionally leaving a sucking mark or even a bite mark. He then took a nipple between in lips and sucked strongly on it while teasing the other with his fingers.

Jotaro gasped explosively. The pleasure she was feeling from Motoki's ministrations was intense and radiating towards her core. She was feeling as if she were in the seventh heaven. She had suspected that tits were one hell of an erogenous zone but it was something else to experiment it. She felt her womanhood wet dramatically as Motoki engulfed all her areola in his mouth and suckled on it while massaging her other breast and tweaking her other nipple. Motoki then bit on her breast, light enough not to hurt her but strong enough to leave a mark on it, making her cry in pleasure.

Motoki fondled and suckled on her breast for a few minutes, alternating on them, before he left a trail of kisses on her belly. He kissed her bellybutton lightly, making her squirm under the tickling sensation, then went further down and reached her thong. He grabbed its hem with his teeth and took it off of her that way with her cooperation. Jotaro then put her legs down on the bed, spreading them in the process.

Motoki finally saw her womanhood without interferences. It was topped by a neatly trimmed patch of pubic hair that seemed to point to the prize he was now seeing. Her lips were red and puffy and the womanhood itself looked really small. It was of a delicate shade of pink and was welcoming him by gaping slightly. A wet trail was coming from a still tightly shut hole. Motoki inhaled the scent that was coming from it and found it heavenly. He couldn't resist any longer and took a lick, making Jotaro gasp once more in delight. It tasted like nectar to him and soon, he was lapping with abandon, making Jotaro writhe in pleasure while holding the covers of the bed in her tightly shut hands. Motoki noticed a slight protuberance over Jotaro's inner lips and uncovered it, revealing her clitoris. He stroke it lightly.

Jotaro immediately moaned extremely loud, drugged in pleasure by the new sensations flooding her brain. Motoki was encouraged and continued to stroke it. He then stopped licking her folds and inserted a finger in the hole protected by her flower and started to pump it in and out of the conduit. Jotaro's moans evolved into cries of delight and she started to squirm, hoping for more of the delicious sensations. Motoki pumped for a while before inserting a second, then a third finger, all the while licking her and stroking her clitoris. Jotaro was writhing in delight, the intense sensation flooding the pleasure sensors of her brain. She managed to tell Motoki between cries that she would soon be coming. In response, Motoki took her clitoris between his lips and sucked hard on it, biting it lightly, while he plunged his fingers deeper in her pussy.

Jotaro screamed under the tremendous onslaught of pleasure she was now feeling. Her body convulsed several times while she rode on the orgasm and her vagina clamped down on Motoki's fingers while gushing juices, making it almost impossible for Motoki to take his fingers out of her womanhood. It didn't prevent him from lapping wantonly the juices that were flowing on said fingers. The orgasm lasted maybe twenty seconds to Jotaro but since it was the first she had ever felt in her girl form it felt like hours to her. It finally receded, allowing her womanhood to release Motoki's fingers while she gulped air loudly. She had heard that the female orgasm was more intense than the male one and from what she had experienced it was true.

"Wow!" she managed to utter between two gulps of air.

"That good?" asked Motoki with a smile, still impressed by the strength of her orgasm. It had been a truly impressive sight.

"You have no idea," she breathed lustily. "And it's too bad, really. It is after all magnificent."

"Ready for the main course?" asked Motoki lustfully.

"Yeah," said Jotaro. No words were needed after that.

Motoki took her in his arms while kissing her gently, allowing her to taste her own juices on his lips. He was grinding his manhood on her womanhood, eliciting moans from her. He them stopped kissing her and gave her an interrogative look. She looked thoughtful for a full second before she nodded wordlessly. Motoki took his member in his hand, aimed it where he wanted and pushed himself in one stroke inside Jotaro, burying himself to the hilt despite his size and Jotaro's smallness.

Jotaro gasped explosively at the new sensation. It was a bit disconcerting at first since it was her first time and Motoki was huge. Then she felt a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction, as if she had lived her whole life just for this instant. She had a bright smile on her lips and felt moisture in her eyes, which scared Motoki, convinced that it was his fault. It actually was but it wasn't a bad thing.

"What's wrong?" he asked panicked. He tried to pull out but Jotaro stopped him.

"I'm not crying out of pain," she said softly. "I'm extremely resistant to pain. I'm crying because I'm insanely happy. I have never felt so... complete. It's a wonderful sensation. And you're the one responsible for it. So suck it up and deal with it like a man."

She put her lips to his ear.

"Do me," she said huskily. Motoki didn't need any more prompting and started to thrust into her.

Jotaro was soon crying in pleasure at each of his thrusts, gripping him with wanton abandon. Motoki was grunting due to the delicious effort he was performing. He soon started to vary his thrusts, varying their speed and his angle of penetration. He then brought her legs on her shoulders, being then able to penetrate her more deeply.

Meanwhile Jotaro was screaming in delight, adjusting her breathing with each of Motoki's thrust. It was even more pleasurable than when Motoki had gotten down on her. She decided to take the initiative and pushed Motoki on his back before climbing on him, adopting the cowgirl position and never actually getting his manhood out of her. She then started to bounce up and down on his member at an accelerating pace.

She was getting faster and faster, her orgasm building. Motoki helped in this regard by lifting his head and sucking hard on one of her nipples while his hand was fondling the other with abandon. The pleasure built up inside Jotaro before it peaked and exploded, spreading throughout her body and making her limbs spasm while her vagina tightened on Motoki's cock. She howled in delight during her extremely long orgasm while holding Motoki tight in her arms between her breasts and scratching his back.

Jotaro then became limp, gulping air as if she had nearly drowned.

"Wow, she said again, unable to say anything more.

"It's not finished," said Motoki. "I'm still hard and have yet to come."

Jotaro was about to say that it was too soon but Motoki thrust suddenly in pleasure and she howled in pleasure, taken by a residual orgasm. Motoki turned her on his shaft and put her on the bed, positioning them for the doggy-style position. He then started to thrust wantonly into her.

Jotaro was howling with pleasure, unable to help herself since she felt like she was riding on a perpetual orgasm. Motoki was still pumping into her, stimulating her clitoris with one hand, fondling her breasts with the other and trailing kisses on her back with his mouth, leaving sucking marks on her shoulder-blades and on the nape of her neck. He did her like that for about ten minutes before coming, spraying his semen in her vagina and womb. At that moment, Jotaro felt the most powerful orgasm she had ever had hit her and she shrieked until there was no more air in her lungs. She then collapsed under Motoki, unable to move. Motoki collapsed over her, spent too. They remained like this for a few minutes, regaining their breath and strength, before Motoki pushed himself from Jotaro's form and lied beside her. They eyed each other lovingly, a satisfied smile gracing their lips.

***Straight lemon end***

"It was incredible," said Jotaro. "Thank you."

"I should be the one to thank you," replied Motoki happily. "You made me discover both sides of sex and it was great each time." He then became unsure. "There's just one thing..."

"You don't think I'm the one for you," told Jotaro with a sad smile.

"Yeah," admitted Motoki while his shoulders slumped. "How did you know?"

"I feel the same way," replied Jotaro sadly. "Don't misunderstand me. You were great and I like you very much. It's just that I feel that someone is waiting for me out there."

"I feel something like that too," revealed Motoki. "There's something else too. You're simply too good. Not in a 'She's way classier than me way' but you don't need protection. I know it's my stupid manly pride speaking but I want to be the one protecting the person I love, not the opposite. It's stupid but it matters to me."

"I may be stupid but it's sweet and I still think it's a good reason," said Jotaro gently. Then she asked, unsure: "Still friends?"

Motoki graced her with a lecherous smile.

"Friends with benefits?" he asked back. It was Jotaro's turn to smile and it framed her face magnificently.

"I like the way you think," she said huskily before kissing him.

They didn't sleep much this night.

* * *

Mamoru frowned as he exited his first class. He hadn't seen Motoki this morning and was wondering if something had happened to his friend.

"Hey, Mamoru!" said Motoki from behind him. Mamoru stopped worrying over his friend. He was visibly in good shape. He turned to greet him but his words died in his throat.

Motoki was literally radiating happiness. He had a smile so big that it was threatening to split his face. He was standing carefree but Mamoru noticed that he was tired.

"What the hell happened to you?" he blurted instead of his prepared greeting.

"I just spent the best night of my life," said Motoki smilingly. He then grinned and said softly. "I got laid."

Mamoru almost face-faulted. He regained his bearings and eyed Motoki. This time he noticed the sucking marks on his jaw and neck. He smiled at his friend.

"Great for you," he said truthfully, then more avidly: "So how was she?"

"How were they, you mean," replied Motoki to a flabbergasted Mamoru. "I did it with twins, a brother and a sister."

"Wha?" said Mamoru stupidly.

"That's right, you didn't know but I'm bisexual," revealed Motoki. "But don't worry. Even though you're handsome, you're just not my type. Besides, I know that you're a ladies' man."

Mamoru closed his gaping mouth, looked at how unabashed his friend was, then smiled.

"He doesn't interest me," he just said. "But how was she? I want details for God's sake!"

Motoki smiled at his friend's acceptance and sat at a table to tell him about this oh so wonderful night.

* * *

"...And then I learnt that the arrival was at Kuno's house and I decided that winning simply wasn't worth it so I lost gracefully," said Akane finishing her story of the take-out race. "I was right given the shrieks of outrage I heard from Shampoo and that Kaori girl. They won the race but they had to deal with Kuno's delusions."

They were eating at school. Akane was having on of her sister's legendary bentos and Jotaro was eating a sandwich. Akane turned to Jotaro and noticed that he was out of it.

"What happened to you?" she asked puzzled.

"Something happened to me yesterday," answered Jotaro. Akane nodded and took a bite from her bento. "I got laid."

Akane choked on her piece of food due to the shock and coughed for a minute. Then she looked at Jotaro utterly shocked.

"You're pulling my leg," she said with finality. She couldn't believe it.

"I most certainly am not," replied Jotaro. "I even have suction marks to prove it."

He then pulled the collar of his trenchcoat down and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. Several hickeys could be seen, even a bite mark.

"Wow!" managed to breathe Akane still in shock. "She was wild."

"He, actually," corrected Jotaro. "I slept with a guy."

Akane made a strangled sound.

"You slept with a guy?" she asked unbelievingly. "In your girl form?"

"In both forms," Jotaro shot back. "I wanted to experiment with both."

"But that's perverted!" shrieked Akane. Jotaro eyed her intently.

"Whatever I do with my free time is none of your business," he said stonily but with a hint of anger. "Even if I did something perverted. And what I did wasn't perverted. It was done out of love."

Akane lowered her head, properly chastised. She then looked at Jotaro questioningly.

"So you have a boyfriend, now?" she asked curious.

"No," replied Jotaro. "We established together that we weren't made for each other. We're still friends, though. Friends with benefits even."

"Friends with benefits?" asked Akane, not knowing the term.

"We are friends but we will sometimes make love, even though we are not together," answered Jotaro simply.

Akane mulled this over. She still thought that it was perverted (and Jotaro had to admit that she wasn't totally wrong in her assumption) but she knew that Jotaro wouldn't care about her opinion on this matter. He was his friend and she knew she had to accept him for what he was, even with his quirks. She decided not to bother him with it any more. Then an idea came to her and she grinned. Jotaro eyed her questioningly.

"What about telling Genma about it?" she said sadistically. "It would crush him, knowing that his 'manly' 'son' is gay," she said while making quotation marks with her hands on the words 'son' and 'manly'. Jotaro smirked sinisterly.

"I like the way you think," he said sadistically. "However, I'm not gay. I'm bisexual. There's a difference."

"I know that and you know that but he doesn't have to know that," replied Akane with a conspirational smirk. "Now how to make it look that I didn't learn it by listening to you so that he doesn't suspect that I'm your friend?"

Jotaro noticed Kuno come, probably to defy him as usual, although he had become a lot more skittish and cautious about it since he had seen the Neko-ken. Jotaro got an idea.

"Leave it to me," he said to her. "And enjoy the show."

"Vile knave," said Kuno haughtily but without his former confidence. "I came here to challenge you and rid the fierce tigress Akane Tendo from your clutches."

"You know you look sexy in that get up," said Jotaro neutrally but so loud that everyone in the school heard it and turned their heads to see if their ears had deceived them. Had Jotaro "Ice Emperor" Kujo said that he found Kujo sexy?

"What?" said Kuno unintelligently, quite startled by what he had just heard.

"You heard me," replied Jotaro. "I find you sexy. I wouldn't mind having a tryst with you."

He then suddenly reappeared behind Kuno, who stiffened, and cupped his butt.

"Want to play a little with me?" he said huskily in Kuno's ear.

He then lightly bit it. The response was immediate.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Kuno screamed, released his bokken and fled as fast as his legs could carry him.

"But you're way too immature to handle a relationship," said Jotaro condescendingly. "As everyone here it seems. Oh, well, at least I've got a way to get him off of my case peacefully."

He then went back to where Akane was.

"So what do you think about my performance?" he asked.

Akane was a bit disturbed that someone had hit on Kuno but she put that aside and focused on her other reaction.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she burst out of laughing. Jotaro just smirked.

"That's what I thought too," he just said with a small smile.

* * *

A.N: For the information, I wrote the Yaoi lemon while listening to Rammstein's "Ich tuh dir weh" (I'm hurting you). I'm probably way weirder than I initially thought. As for Kaori, she isn't in the manga but I still decided to include her in the story. Next time, Jotaro meets Happosai. I intend to surprise the readers.


	11. Beauty Of The Beast

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

X) Beauty Of The Beast

In a faraway place, away from any nearby human dwelling, a great evil stirred...

A boulder with shinto wards on it was blocking the access of a cave. Nobody had ever moved the boulder since nobody was curious enough to see what was inside the cave. Thunder clapped in the sky, becoming more and more deafening, before a lightning bolt hit a tree on the edge of the highland above the cliff. The tree exploded under the electrical tension that vaporized all the water in it, showering its neighbourhood with wooden debris. The explosion shook a part of the cliff which fell down in an avalanche. Once it reached the boulder, it took the shinto wards away from it. Not a minute later, a second lightning bolt struck the boulder making it explode. Then the smoke dissipated.

A small figure emerged from the cave. It was shrivelled and dressed in a dirty black gi with two tufts of white hair on its temple. It had enormous blue eyes and a small white moustache. It reached inside its gi and took a long pipe on which it took a victorious drag.

"Free!" It shouted. "At last!"

* * *

Then a lightning bolt struck it. It decided that sleep would be good for now.

In the Tendo Dojo, several bad omens occurred. Soun's favourite sake cup broke, Genma's getta unravelled and the Tendo's family altar shattered. The whole family was shaken about it, except Akane who didn't believe in omens. However, thanks to Jotaro, she believed in her instincts and her instincts told her that something would happen soon. However, she was pretty sure that nothing too drastic would come out of it. She still decided to talk about it with Jotaro. Chances were he had felt it too.

Genma hadn't exactly paid too much attention to it. After the news that his son was gay, he didn't see how the situation could get any worse. He stopped before he shuddered. He had tempted fate, his situation could get worse. After all, his wife had yet to learn about it.

* * *

Jotaro had indeed felt the same thing as Akane and had told her to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Before they parted, she had stopped her as if struck by a sudden inspiration.

"Remember two things," she had said. "Nothing is as easy as it seems. And people lie."

And with these cryptic words she had gone to her home. Akane had continued on her way until she had heard cries of outrage. She changed her course slightly and came across the strange scene she was witnessing now.

A small troll-like figure was jumping from girl to girl while lifting their skirts and fondling their bottoms. It was a wrinkled old man clad in a black gi with two tufts of hair on his temples, a moustache and big wide eyes. So that was what had caused the cries of outrage. Akane's first reaction was to bash the pervert and that was what she would have done only two months ago. However that was before Jotaro taught her to think before acting. So she did that. And she noticed that the small pervert was calling for her name while doing his activities. She also noticed something in his eyes. She had taken to read people's emotion from their eye since she knew Jotaro given that she couldn't guess his emotions otherwise. What she noticed in the old man's eyes puzzled her. It was a mix of sadness and self-loathing. She remembered Jotaro's cryptic advice. Had he known about what would happen? She decided to trust her guts on this and her guts were telling her to help this pervert. It went against everything she believed in but she felt it was the right thing to do.

"Hey, old man!" she apostrophized him. "I'm Akane Tendo! Over here!"

The small pervert stopped what he was doing and jumped in front of Akane. Akane felt a shiver of revulsion course through her but decided to ignore it. There was obviously something wrong with this man and it was making him suffer.

"Akane-chan!" he said happily. "I'm glad I found you!"

"Who are you?" she asked. "You know me but I don't know you."

"You wouldn't remember," replied the old man. "You were a baby the last time I saw you. I am Happosai. I was your father's master. Genma Saotome's too for that matter. I heard that they both lived around here. Could you show me the way?"

'_Nothing is as easy as it seems. And people lie,_' that was what Jotaro had said. Akane knew that he was right when it came to Happosai, but she didn't know in what regards, at least not yet. She decided to find out.

"Follow me," she said. "But stop groping everything female in the vicinity. It would seem strange that a notorious pervert hater such as me walked alongside with one."

Happosai was a bit startled by that. If this girl hated perverts, why was she even giving him a chance? He was curious now. So he followed her.

* * *

When they arrived at her house, Akane announced her arrival stating that she was bringing a visitor. Everyone, including Genma, came. At the sight of Happosai, the two old friends opened wide eyes. Then they started to shake in badly concealed fear.

"Ma-Master!" squealed Soun. "You-You're back."

"Of course I'm back you ungrateful whelps," sneered Happosai. "Still as pathetic as ever, uh? Such students you are."

Soun's daughters were surprised by the condescending tone, wondering how their father and Genma would react. Their father would probably burst into tears while Genma would probably boast about himself to counter this old man. So it came as a surprise when the two men prostrated themselves in front of him.

"Master! How good it is to have you back!" gushed the students in obviously forced voices.

Akane was a bit puzzled. What was so terrifying about this old man? Sure, he was very good at evading from what she had seen when she had first seen him, but that seemed to be all. Jotaro's warning came to her memory again. Was that disappointment she saw in his eyes?

"Next time you try to get rid of me," boasted Happosai, "you'll know to use more explosives."

"Duly noted, Master," replied Genma.

Akane and her sisters opened wide eyes.

"Explosives?" asked Akane to confirm if she had heard right. "You used explosives on him?"

"You don't know how terrible he is, Akane!" wailed Soun.

And he told them the terrible training they had to sustain at Happosai's hand. He told them about the starvation, the insane training methods and the underwear raids. He finally told them how Genma and he had seized their chance when Happosai had been passed out on sake and had thrown him into a cave with a bundle of dynamite before blocking the entrance of the cave with a warded boulder. Kasumi and Nabiki were moved by their tales of woe and scandalized at Happosai. Akane strangely wasn't.

"I don't see how that is inhuman," she said bluntly, much to everyone's surprise, Happosai included. "Genma did way worse to his son for the sake of training after all."

Everybody eyed her flabbergasted. They had figured that she would be the first to condemn Happosai given how perverted he was and given what he had done to her father. Happosai eyed her with something that was almost alien on his face: respect and gratitude. One thing was bothering Akane though.

"What I don't understand," she mused aloud, "is why you never simply went away if you hated his training so much. After all it's the privilege of the master to do whatever he wants with his students."

Soun and Genma closed their mouths with a click and tried to think of a reasonable answer. Happosai merely chuckled.

"Noticed that, didn't you?" he said warmly to Akane. "I did tell them that they could walk away at any time but they never did."

"Why would they try to kill you then?" asked Akane pointedly. "It doesn't make sense."

"I have a theory about that," revealed Happosai. "A ugly one. They wanted the title of Anything Goes master but I didn't want to give it to them. They were, and still are, not worthy. So they learned what they thought they needed and when they thought I couldn't or wouldn't teach them anything useful anymore, they decided to get rid of me to appropriate the title of Anything Goes master for themselves. Nobody would challenge them on it since I wasn't here anymore. But here I am. And I'm revoking your mastery, my worthless students."

Genma and Soun immediately protested but Happosai cowed them with a burst of his aura. Kasumi and Nabiki also faltered at its sight. Akane didn't. She had seen worse from Jotaro. Happosai nodded approvingly. Genma and Soun tried to attack him then but he incapacitated them extremely fast. He then eyed them disdainfully.

"Your mastery is hereby revoked," he said scornfully. "If I hear you boast about this title, I'll take care of you once and for all."

He then took a pipe and started to puff on it.

"Now I have to find a worthy heir for my art," he said. He then turned to Akane. "Wouldn't you want to be my heir? I normally don't train girls but you have the proper mindset, so I'd make an exception for you."

Soun immediately protested that his baby girl couldn't take the strain of such a dreadful training but was silenced by Happosai. Genma said that she was a girl and thus weak and not deserving of the title and was silenced by Akane herself who used a few shiatsu points on him, to Happosai's surprise and pride. Akane then assumed a thinking pose before answering.

"Why not?" she said. "However, it's not the only thing I want to do. I still want to study and maybe have a work. And I reserve to myself the right not to perform your training if it is moronic without cause."

"Will do," replied Happosai. "You passed the first step of the training: learning to refuse. It will take longer but I will train you, without the most dangerous teaching methods I used on Genma and your father."

"What!" exclaimed Soun. "Why did you put us through this torture if it wasn't needed?"

"Because you were greedy, that's why," growled Happosai. "I wanted to teach you that way to be patient and mindful. Unfortunately, it didn't work."

"Wait!" said Genma as the shiatsu that paralysed him started to wear off. "My son would make a way better heir than Akane."

Akane glowered. She then made a sign to Happosai and mouthed so that only he could see: '_People lie_'.

"How would he make a better heir?" she growled at Genma. "He probably isn't willing to go through training with your master given how much he loathes you. Besides, he isn't your son anymore. Have you forgotten that? He goes by the name Jotaro Kujo. Good riddance I say. If he is anything remotely like you, I don't want to have anything to do with him."

Happosai was a bit put off by Akane's vindictiveness but remembered what she had mouthed to him and managed to read between the lines. She obviously had more to tell him but didn't want to in front of her family.

"Well," he said carefully, making a discreet sign at Akane, "I should check him then. I'll probably refuse to train him anyway if he is anything like you Genma."

"Whatever," huffed Akane. "I know where the pervert lives. I'll get you there so you can reject him. Come on."

And with that, they were off, much to the relief of Soun and Genma. Kasumi and Nabiki were glad to get rid of Akane. When she was angry, she could be devastating, and not in the physical sense only. They walked for two blocks before Happosai turned to Akane.

"Now will you tell me what it was all about?" he asked. Akane shed her angry face and sighed.

"Sorry," she explained. "It's an elaborate act I put up to screw with Genma's mind. With my family's too for that matter. They disappointed me. Genma should just be put to jail on general principle alone. The man is a threat."

"So it was all an act?" asked Happosai.

"Not all of it, no," answered Akane. "For example, I didn't say anything but the truth, just not the whole truth. And I did it in a way that gave an entirely wrong idea. I actually consider Jotaro Kujo as a mix between friend, brother and mentor. He actually loathes Genma but if he would probably refuse your training it's because he doesn't want the responsibility of being the heir to someone. Besides, he trains just fine by himself and is monstrously skilled, maybe even more than you. He isn't Genma's son anymore and I wouldn't want to have anything to do with him if he were too much like him. Fortunately he is nothing like Genma. One last thing, he doesn't express his emotions much but he can still be a very good friend if he considers you worth it. If he doesn't he just ignores you. However, if by a stroke of bad thinking you antagonize him, he becomes absolutely ruthless. His motto could be "He who wills the end wills the means" given how he is ready to do anything to win."

"Sounds like quite a character," replied Happosai. "How did he stop from becoming Genma's son? Genma doesn't strike me as the type to let him do that."

"He didn't but Jotaro was stronger than him," told Akane truthfully. "Besides, in essence, he has never been Genma's son. I don't know the whole story but what I know is pretty strange. He doesn't seem to know how to do anything besides strange."

"I've got some time," replied Happosai interested. "Tell me anyway."

And Akane told him what she knew about Jotaro, not mentioning his Jusenkyo curse because Jotaro wouldn't like that but she told him everything that had happened with Jotaro, including his arrival at the Tendos and how he had forsaken them at the time. She just used his excuse with his sister with the same name. Happosai listened attentively to the incredible story. That he had defeated Cologne seemed far-fetched but he was willing to give Akane the benefit of the doubt, especially if Jotaro had somehow mastered the Neko-ken. Happosai had never heard of anyone doing that.

"I currently want to meet this young man with what you told me," he said. "Don't worry, you remain my primary heir. Not taking him as the primary heir will piss Genma off and that's a good thing."

"Besides, making me the primary heir will scare my father and that's also a good thing," added Akane. Happosai looked at her.

"You don't think much of your family," he noted. "Why is that? Genma I can understand, your father too, but your sisters?"

Akane sighed and told him why exactly she had such a poor opinion of her family. Happosai became thoughtful.

"Well if you want I can always act perverted towards them," said Happosai. "Only if you want me to. I don't act perverted towards people I appreciate and they've done nothing to me thus far. But for my heir I could act perverted with them."

"So it's really all an act?" asked Akane curious. Happosai became sombre.

"Unfortunately no," he replied sadly. "I act perverted because I can't help it. It's taking almost all of my self control not to fondle you right now. It's a good exercise for me however."

Akane thought this over. This old man seemed perverted to the core but he had some decency in him. Since her discovery with Jotaro that perverted didn't necessarily equate to evil, she was willing to give him a chance. He hadn't been perverted towards her at least. He could visibly control himself, which was a good point in his favour.

"We're here," she said to him before knocking on the door. They waited for a few moments before the door opened, revealing Jotaro in her female form with her cap and trenchcoat. Akane had never seen her with anything else, really.

Jotaro eyed Akane inquisitively before her gaze fell on Happosai and her eyes twitched. It was very faint but Akane saw it. That meant something was disturbing her greatly. And it had something to do with Happosai. She hoped they got along well, she didn't want her two senseis antagonizing each other.

Jotaro's eyes narrowed while she looked on Happosai and she frowned. Something was seriously wrong.

"You... You..." she started. But she didn't have the time to finish.

Happosai tried, he really tried. But his concentration had been strained from refraining to grope Akane and he needed it now. Besides, Jotaro's trenchcoat was open and her Chinese shirt revealed how generous her bosom was to the world, especially since it was obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra. Happosai shuddered and succumbed to the temptation. He jumped at Jotaro while crying: "Sweeto" and latched at her chest.

Akane cringed. There went her chance of her two senseis getting positively acquainted with one another. Jotaro would probably react in a few seconds. And given the way her gaze hardened, it was going to be violent and painful. She wouldn't want to be in Happosai's shoes.

Happosai sighed almost too softly to be heard. He hadn't managed to control himself. The curvaceous lady he had just latched onto would soon throw him away and try to hurt him. Jotaro took Happosai between her two hands and held him in front of her eyes, her face expressionless save for a frown. Happosai closed his eyes and waited for his punishment.

Jotaro, however, betrayed his expectations.

"How long have you been like that?" she asked pointedly. Happosai eyed her, not understanding.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I've been like that since my eighties, which occurred more than two hundred years ago."

Jotaro sighed and elaborated.

"How long have you been obliged to rely on female ki to survive?"

Happosai's eyes widened. It was one of his big secrets. He wasn't perverted by choice, he had actually wanted to become a religious man at one time. But he needed to fondle girls to survive. Nobody had ever suspected this and this girl had been subjected to him only a handful of seconds and had discovered it.

"It's a curse I got when I was sixteen," he said finally. "I can't live without it. All the ki my body produces can't go into my heart. Only female ki can and I leech it by touching women's assets."

"You've been living on the edge for all your life!" said Jotaro somewhat alarmingly. "You need a ki transfer, badly."

And she put him on her breasts again. Happosai's eyes went wide as saucers. This girl was willing to let him defile her just to help him replenish his ki reserves around his heart and she barely knew him. And what she knew of him wasn't that good. But she didn't know what was awaiting her.

Jotaro felt something, something repulsive, coming from Happosai. It was terrible, she felt it, and it wanted to invade her. But she held firm.

"Release me, you fool!" suddenly shrieked the old pervert. "You don't know what you're dealing with! It will destroy you!"

Akane suddenly panicked at hearing such desperation in her master's voice. Jotaro heard it too but persevered.

"Stop it now! While you still can!" cried Happosai, tears in his eyes.

And then she felt it.

It was terrible. Suddenly all of her worst memories came into her mind. Her battle against Dio Brando, when her grandfather had died and when she thought her mother wouldn't survive. The fight against Yoshikage Kira, when the said man had come extremely close to killing her and her friends. And finally, the battle against Pucci, when she saw her daughter be mortally wounded and couldn't do anything to help her while the world was collapsing. Despair invaded her mind. Then this feeling was magnified and a wave of extremely intense physical and mental pain coursed through her. It felt as if the worst events possible had happened to her and were happening to her ever again. She had never been raped nor tortured but she felt sure that she would have preferred that.

Despite that, she held firm on her sanity and consciousness.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Happosai with tears of anguish

Akane witnessed the terrible scene. Jotaro and Happosai had been engulfed in a malevolent black aura with red streaks that was coursing around them. She then heard Happosai's desperate pleas for it to stop and, worse, Jotaro's grunts of pain. That totally freaked Akane since Jotaro was the toughest person she knew. If she made sounds of pain, then it must have been terrible.

The black aura receded and Happosai managed to escape Jotaro's arms. Jotaro fell boneless on her back on the ground, her eyes white and her mouth frothing. Happosai looked at her with a mixture of fear and anguish in his eyes.

"Not again," he whimpered pathetically. "Please, not again. Don't let her be too traumatized to live." He was openly crying by now.

"What happened?" asked Akane fearfully.

At that moment, Jotaro's body convulsed for a few seconds, making Akane's fear reach new heights and Happosai's mood reach new lows of despair. It was exactly like what had happened two hundred and ninety eight years ago. She wouldn't wake up and it was because of him.

Suddenly, Jotaro sat, eyes focusing before taking the biggest gulp of air she ever had. She then wiped the froth from her mouth and looked at Happosai neutrally.

"That was the single most terrifying and terrible thing that ever happened to me," she said with a slightly shaking voice.

"You're awake!" shouted Happosai in elation. Then his face became full of fury. "You fool! Don't you realise what you've done to yourself? You could have ended catatonic or dead!"

"I know," replied Jotaro. "I actually came really close to it. Did it recharge your heart?"

"I've got at best a month's worth of female ki in my heart, something I could have gotten by lightly groping a hundred females, which is easy for me," he snarled with tears in her eyes. "That's what you risked your life for, one measly month of life for me that I could have gotten by myself! Don't ever do that again! It's definitely not worth it."

Jotaro eyed him thoughtfully. Given how adamant he had been and still was about her not charging him that way he obviously hadn't wanted that and he visibly couldn't control it. She sighed and firmed her voice.

"I think you owe me an explanation for what happened," she said neutrally.

Happosai eyed her with tearful eyes, still not believing that she had survived.

"I think you do," he said wearily. "Let's go inside. You should listen to it too, Akane. You have a right to know what you're getting yourself into."

Akane nodded wordlessly and they went inside. Jotaro seemed strangely healthy for someone who had just had a traumatic experience but Akane could see that she was still shaken.

Jotaro lead them on the couch in the living-room and brought tea for them. After serving them, she took a flask from... somewhere, and emptied it in a few gulps.

"What's that?" asked Akane, curious.

"Some fifty year old whiskey," replied Jotaro. "I feel better now that I've taken it."

She then took a cigarette from... somewhere and lit it. She smoked it under the flabbergasted gazes of Akane and Happosai since she sometimes made it disappear integrally in her mouth before making it reappear, all this without her hands. Once she finished, she put the butt of the cigarette in an ashtray.

"That hit the spot," she said neutrally. "I usually don't drink nor smoke but I have been shaken by what happened. I'm mostly good now."

"If you can shrug off something like that with just alcohol and a cigarette, then you're the toughest individual I know."

"I might need some cuddling and lovemaking from my friend but that can wait a little," she said idly. Then she became serious and eyed Happosai seriously. "Now, will you tell us what happened?"

Happosai sighed and looked suddenly weary and haunted, actually looking his three hundred years old. He had visibly seen too many horrors.

"It happened when I was sixteen, exactly three hundred and one years ago," he started. "At the time, I was young and quite handsome. However, I had very little interest in women. I wanted to become a warrior monk in the country I reside in, China."

"Not interested in women?" asked Akane while arching an eyebrow.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" chuckled Happosai sadly. "It is true, though. I was wandering in the country, trying to learn new techniques from masters, just like my peers had done. I came across a Chinese Amazon and defeated her."

"You too?" said Jotaro without the slightest hint of surprise. "I had one of them after me. I managed to shake her off. She doesn't dare bother me now."

"You got one after you and you're still alive?" asked Happosai awed. "Impressive. It means that you know their laws. I had to marry her according to them. But I didn't want to and kept pushing her away. She pursued me for five months before I had enough and told her in no uncertain term that I wouldn't marry her ever. She took it rather badly and took a cursed artefact to use on me. It applied a three-fold curse on me. She explained part of it while cackling madly before the artefact self-destroyed, taking her with it."

He sighed and took his pipe to smoke.

"What she explained to me was that I would need to draw female ki to survive" detailed Happosai sombrely. "I had to draw it the way you saw. It wouldn't have been so bad but the other part of the curse made age extremely fast physically speaking. Not only that but it made me disgusting to women. After three seconds of my touch, they feel a strong repulsion and most of them just throw me away. I didn't know yet that it was a safety."

He sighed and tears welled up in his eyes.

"It took me two years to go back home while I tried to continue my training," he explained. "I tried to but my new tendencies made me quite hard to deal with. It's like an urge, you know. I tried to let myself die but I can't help but try to stay alive at all costs. Survival instincts, maybe. Or maybe it is another safety of the curse. It doesn't seem to want me to die."

He puffed on his smoke as the tears redoubled.

"When I came home," he continued, "my sister was waiting for me. I had a sister, quite beautiful and quite sought after. I explained my new condition to her and she did something extremely gentle. She accepted to become my exclusive source of energy. It is thanks to her that I was able to stay in the village without behind chased for perverted antics. She fed me for a year before she decided to try something I have regretted since. She decided, like you, to get over the three seconds limit to see if it would satiate me for longer. I was a bit reluctant but I decided to try it. She was so insistent, she wanted me to be slightly more free."

Happosai then choked back a sob. Jotaro had a stony face but Akane could tell that he was shaken. She herself had tears in her eyes. She knew that it couldn't have ended well.

"What happened to you happened to her," choked Happosai. "A black aura engulfed her and me and prevented us from separating. She howled in pain. It was the most horrible thing I have ever heard. She was suffering atrociously. I could see it and couldn't do anything."

"When I was under this aura," interrupted Jotaro, "I felt my worst pain and worst memories come to me. They were then magnified until they became unbearable. I would have taken being raped and tortured over this. It is how bad it was."

"It was what I suspected too," said Happosai with tears coursing down his cheeks. "She howled for a minute but it felt like hours to me. When the aura receded, her gaze was vacant. I didn't know it yet but she had become catatonic. Her mind had been destroyed. I spent one month near her before I felt the need coming back. I had traded my sister's sanity for one fucking month of life. I had definitely gotten ripped off."

Happosai wiped his tears.

"I let her under the care of the villagers and told them what had happened," he said once he was back in control. "I then self-exiled myself and never came back. I then got to the Amazon village to enact my vengeance against the tribe from where the one who had cursed me had come from. It was because of their laws that I was such a menace. I had half a mind to activate the full curse on some of them but nobody deserves that, nobody. So I pilfered most of their artefact and groped them to my heart content and went away, leaving them extremely angry at me. They have yet to catch me however. I spent the rest of my years perfecting my ki manipulation and my martial arts and trying to lift my curse. And here I am now, a cursed old man, expert in ki and martial arts who is too afraid to die. I almost died in that cave but it opened two days before it happened and I have replenished my reserves somewhat since then. I decided to take my revenge on my foolish students who have tried to get rid of me and to train someone like I did in the past. I'm trying to die, but I instinctively want to live and being perverted has since long become a second nature to me."

Happosai then went silent and looked at Jotaro and Akane. Akane was crying at the terrible story. Jotaro had a stony face but even Happosai could tell that she had been moved by his story. He waited for them to tell him to get out of their life. He was used to it, after all. Akane then did something completely unexpected.

She grabbed Happosai and put him on her chest. Happosai was so completely surprised that he didn't even think of escaping her. He suddenly remembered what had happened and started to flail in panic. However, Akane pulled him out of her bosom and held him at arm's length. She wiped her eyes and looked at him.

"I felt the repulsion," she said. "So this is a signal. Once I feel it I have to release you and you're partially fed. Is that correct?"

"Yes," replied Happosai dumbly. Akane then repeated the process.

"And you need it only a few times a day," she said. He nodded. "I can live with that. Consider it your payment for teaching me."

Happosai was totally flummoxed.

"You still want me," he asked unbelievingly. "I'm a monster in case you haven't heard. I killed my sister!"

"The way I see it, it wasn't your fault," interrupted Jotaro, a cigarette having appeared in her mouth. "You didn't have all the elements and you made an uninformed mistake. I did one like that too, and it lead to the end of the world and the death of my daughter and all of my friends."

Happosai's eyes widened at Jotaro's admission. Akane's too. She knew that Jotaro came from another world but hadn't known that she had had a daughter and that she considered the end of her world her fault.

"What do you mean, end of the world?" asked Happosai. "And how can you have a daughter? You are barely sixteen!"

Jotaro looked at Akane inquisitively.

"You haven't told her about my origin?" she asked. "What about the curse?"

"It's your story," replied Akane. "It's your place to decide who you want to know it. Besides, you haven't told me all of it. There must be a good reason."

"There is," replied Jotaro. And she told them her story in more details. She didn't tell them all but she told them about the end of her world and what had led to it. She also demonstrated her curse to Happosai.

"Your curse probably saved you," said Happosai after she had finished. "You have some male ki and it interfered with my curse. It's probably why you aren't catatonic now. The fact that you are relatively healthy has probably to do with your very nature. You are tough."

"I know," replied Jotaro. "I'm not entirely okay but I know how to deal with the trauma. Don't worry about me."

"I still owe you," replied Happosai. "For all you've suffered from me, you need compensation. Learning all of my techniques without strings attached wouldn't be enough."

"It would be a start," replied Jotaro while putting the butt of her cigarette in the ashtray. "I wouldn't mind learning them, they could be useful."

"You have no idea," replied Happosai. "However, it is not enough."

"How about you owe me a few favours, no questions asked?" proposed Jotaro.

Happosai thought on it for a few minutes.

"That could work," he finally said. "I'll have to see you regularly then."

"Yes," replied Jotaro. "Where will you be staying?"

"At the Tendos," answered Happosai. "It should freak my wayward students and anything to make their life hell is a plus in my book. Since Akane doesn't mind, why should I?"

Akane had been thoughtful for a moment. Then she grinned evilly, attracting Jotaro's and Happosai's attention.

"You have a wicked idea if your face is any indication," stated Jotaro. "Let's hear it."

"What if you teach me perverted techniques?" she said. "It would freak my father and my sisters, maybe Genma, too."

Happosai grinned evilly.

"I like the way you think, student," he said. Then he became thoughtful. "I thought you disliked perverts however. Doesn't your idea go against your principles?"

"I dislike people being perverted towards me without my consent," answered Akane. "There's a difference. I only knew forced perversion before. Jotaro helped me see that I didn't dislike perversion in itself. I wouldn't mind the man I love being perverted with me. And I didn't mind helping you with your condition, sensei. Besides, it will disturb my family greatly to see such a pervert hater using perverted techniques."

"For the record, the man she loves is called Tofu, he is a chiropractor nearby," supplied Jotaro helpfully.

"Jotaro!" protested Akane. Jotaro didn't often tease her but it happened sometimes and usually involved Tofu.

"There is a technique I could teach you in about an hour that has a perverted application," told Happosai.

He then touched Jotaro's bottom and one second later a pair of boxers appeared twirling around his finger. Jotaro felt something and checked. Her boxers had effectively disappeared.

"This technique allows you to steal underwear from people without them noticing it," said Happosai in a teaching tone. Jotaro's eyes widened.

"Does this technique work on every item?" she asked.

"It only doesn't work on living matter," replied Happosai. "However, anything inanimate is fair game."

Jotaro's mind was racing.

"The applications are nearly unlimited, some of them extremely useful and some of them deadly," she said with barely concealed awe despite remaining stone-faced. "You can steal an opponent weapons or armour and prevent him from using them by just making them fade away. You can get out of bonds. You can even make items fade into people's body, like poisons. This technique is downright frightening."

"I see you saw some of the uses for that technique," said Happosai with satisfaction. "There are many more. Let's teach you."

"Wait a second," replied Jotaro. She then turned to Akane. "I'd like to test the technique on you."

"Uh, sure," replied Akane a bit anxious.

"You don't know the technique yet," interjected Happosai.

"Are you sure?" replied Jotaro. And she put her hand on Akane's bra strap for a second before taking it away.

Akane felt like she had lost something. She felt... less restrained. She then noticed a bra in Jotaro's hand and checked inside her blouse. Sure enough, she didn't have her bra anymore. Happosai was downright shocked.

"Wha..? But... It's impossible!" he exclaimed. "The trick can't be figured by just witnessing it once! Genma and Soun never managed. Of course they never tried hard since they figured it was just a perverted technique. You couldn't have learnt it just by seeing it! Unless..."

"Unless I can see ki, and I can," finished Jotaro. "Ki is just a part of something more called vital energy. Vital energy includes ki, magic, electricity, magnetism, another part I call Hamon and probably several other things. I can see and manipulate vital energy. Since ki is the part of it the most in tune with the living being, I can see it and manipulate it with ease."

"That would explain it," admitted Happosai. "With this ability, more than three quarters of my techniques will be yours in about a month. And the last ones shouldn't pose you too much problems."

"It's a good thing," replied Jotaro. "Now for the hard part."

She then put her hands through Akane's blouse, surprising her and Happosai. Jotaro fumbled a bit before taking his hands out of the blouse, making it look pristine.

"You made your hands intangible!" exclaimed Happosai.

"I made parts of her blouse intangible, not my hands," replied Jotaro. "That way, I can seemingly faze into matter."

"It's downright impressive to manage to do that," said Happosai awed. "I never managed to faze an item partially, not with such control at least. With some training you could walk through walls!"

"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Jotaro interested.

Akane was eyeing her impressed.

"Will I be able to do that?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure," replied Jotaro. "I manipulate vital energy rather than ki and have a monstrous control over it, so I don't know if you could be that precise or manipulate it without your hands. You shouldn't be able to faze through walls before years at best. However, you can reach Happosai's level with the technique pretty easily. Let's teach you."

It took the better part of an hour but with Jotaro and Happosai to help her Akane got the technique down and was able to faze underwear out of people, which was actually one of the hardest things to do since it had to fade through living and non-living matter. Akane jumped in joy when she finally got it.

"Time to go home and scare everyone, Akane," said Happosai gleefully. "I can't wait to see my students' face when they see that I'm teaching my perverted techniques to Akane."

Jotaro saw them out of the house. Then eyed Mikoto who had arrived and had learned of the story while Akane trained. She shuddered violently.

"You're not entirely okay," stated Mikoto. "Whatever Happosai did to you, it was terrible."

"You have no idea," sighed Jotaro. "I need love, lots of love. And I know only one person who can help me."

"So you'll be staying with Motoki tonight," said Mikoto rhetorically.

"Maybe several nights," added Jotaro. "Sorry if I'm not here much. I'll still try to come here tomorrow."

"Don't excuse yourself," wavered Mikoto. "You obviously need it and I want to see you back in good shape. Now shoo. Go to your best friend."

"Thank you, Mikoto," she replied. And with that she was off.

* * *

Motoki lift his eyes from his work and saw Jotaro in her female form tapping at his window. It had surprised the hell out of him the first time since he lived at the seventh floor. He had gotten used to it since two weeks ago. He opened the window and saw something in Jotaro's eyes that stopped him cold. He then immediately took her in his arm. She stiffened then started to cry. She was outright bawling half a minute later. Motoki took her to the couch and sat her on his knees while she shed tears, muttering encouraging word in her ear and stroking her back all the while.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly when her tears had subsidized. Jotaro told him what had happened this day. Motoki listened, horrified at what she had went through.

"You didn't tell this old man how badly it had affected you?" he finally asked.

"I played it down," she sighed. "I didn't want to tell him how much it affected me. He was already guilty enough and it's not his fault. If anything, he did everything in his power to prevent it. He is already a broken old man, I didn't want to add to his woes and falling apart in front of him wouldn't have helped me."

Motoki eyed her thoughtfully.

"It's Saturday evening," he said carefully. "Do you want to spend the whole week-end with me?"

"I was hoping for at least this night, and maybe a few others," replied Jotaro truthfully. Then she looked at him imploringly. "Please let me stay."

That settled it for Motoki. Jotaro never pleaded, he knew her enough to know that. For her to plead, she must have been shaken and needed an outlet. He made his mind.

"You can stay as long as you need," he said with finality. "However, I need to make a special rule for this week-end."

"Which one?" asked Jotaro carefully. She was willing to do anything just to spent time with Motoki. Maybe that showed how female she was when in this body. She didn't think she would be that clingy in her male form.

"Our friendship isn't valid for the duration of the week-end," detailed Motoki. "During this time, we become husband and wife in every sense of the terms. You need something like that."

Jotaro eyed him with wide eyes. He was willing to put their friendship in question just to help her. She kissed him softly with tears in her eyes.

"Deal," she whispered.

And thus her healing began. It was the sweetest moment she had ever lived.

* * *

Akane went back to her house with Happosai in tow. The two adults saw them and shuddered at the sight of Happosai.

"So Master," said Genma sickeningly sweetly. "Have you let down this nonsense of making Akane your heir and taken my boy under your wing?"

"Of course not," replied Happosai scandalized. "Whatever gave you this idea?"

"What? But Master..." started Genma. "He is talented..."

"He is just too talented for me to teach him anything," replied Happosai with finality. "Besides, he doesn't want the responsibility of being my heir. And he is not your son, I checked."

"But Master," wailed Soun. "You can't make Akane your heir! You can't train her."

"That's right," snipped Nabiki. "Akane wouldn't manage to achieve your training."

"It is too dangerous for her," added Kasumi.

"Why? She seemed to be doing just fine. Akane, if you will," said Happosai.

Akane nodded and went between her two sisters. Her hands snaked and the two girls gasped. Kasumi put her hands on her bosom while Nabiki put them on her butt. They had a scandalized expression. It went away, replaced by shock as they saw what Akane had in her hands. The two fathers boggled too. There were plain white panties and a lacy purple bra.

"Wow, Kasumi," she said surprised. "Who knew you hid such sexy underwear under your traditional clothes. Nabiki's panties seem prudish compared to that."

The two sisters checked and sure enough the aforementioned underwear had disappeared from where they had rightly been. Upon seeing Akane's manic proud grin and Happosai obviously proud of his student, Soun burst into tears.

"WAAAAAH!" he wailed. "My daughter has been perverted by the master! We're doomed! WAAAAAAH!"

Genma would have added something but he was too busy being a panda due to Soun's tears.

* * *

On Monday, Jotaro was heading to school in his male form. He had spent the entire week-end with Motoki in his female form. After a romantic dinner Jotaro had cooked, they had gone to bed and made extremely sweet love. It had been the most pleasurable experience Jotaro had ever had. When they had slept, Jotaro had woken Motoki twice by whimpering but he had calmed her so gently that she hadn't even woken and didn't remember her dreams by the time morning came. They had spent Sunday in bed, speaking inanely, listening to music, watching television and making love. That night, Jotaro hadn't woken Motoki and had deduced that she wouldn't need to sleep with him from now on. On the morning she had changed back to her male form and now she was near school. She saw Akane running to her.

"Jotaro!" she shouted. "Master Happosai is in trouble and I can't help him. I need your help!"

"What's wrong?" asked Jotaro immediately alert.

"There is something wrong with him," she explained. "No girl can go near him. I tried and became sick. He can't touch any girl and is going into withdrawal from the lack of female ki. He isn't in danger of dying just yet but he isn't well. You have to help him!"

Jotaro didn't need to be told twice and rushed behind her. They arrived at a vacant lot where Akane gasped at what she saw. Soun and Genma were taking advantage of Happosai's weakness to beat him senseless. Akane rushed and stunned them by hitting their occiput. They fell boneless on the ground. Akane then became green and fled away. Jotaro came and looked at Happosai.

The old pervert was in a poor state. Not because of the beating, he had sustained way worse over the years. But his withdrawal was leaving him all pale and clammy. Jotaro took him in his hands and noticed a small cat patched on his gi. Frowning, he tore it off and revealed a powder liberating a faint odour. He deduced that this was what made girls flee him. He then took Happosai and jumped with him in the nearby canal, turning into his female form and washing all the powder from Happosai's clothes, getting rid of the smell as well. She then put him on her breasts for three seconds until she felt the repulsion and took him off. Happosai opened his eyes.

"Wha? What happened?" he said confusedly. "Last thing I remember I was going into girl withdrawal because they all fled me. Even Akane couldn't come near me. The next I remember I was in your arms."

"You were wearing powder on your clothes that made you repulsive to every female," answered Jotaro.

He then noticed Akane on the bank of the canal and sent Happosai to her. She caught him cautiously, then put him on her breasts to recharge him once she had established that he didn't make her ill anymore. Jotaro came near then and wrung her clothes.

"Who stitched the cat drawing to your gi?" asked Jotaro.

"Kasumi did," replied Akane. "She said it was cute. Wait... She was given something by the two idiots before..."

"There, you have the answer," said Jotaro with finality. "The two idiots got hold of some women repulsive and asked Kasumi to sew it on your clothes. It only activated a while later."

Akane made a face.

"The two idiots I can understand but Kasumi?" she said. "What did she hope for?"

"Probably for you to stop training under me," grumbled Happosai. "She gave me a nasty look yesterday. I thought I had dreamt it since she is so nice to me but it seems she can hide how she feels pretty well."

"People lie," said Jotaro simply.

Happosai nodded. He then jumped from Akane's arms and dusted his clothes.

"If you don't mind," he said casually. "I have two traitorous students to punish."

He then rushed to the empty lot, Akane and Jotaro following him.

When they arrived, Soun and Genma were back to consciousness. They looked around and spotted something that made them shiver. Happosai was back. Happosai was looking in great form. And Happosai was pissed.

"Time for you to suffer, you ungrateful whelps," he growled.

His aura suddenly burst forth, making his form tower over Soun and Genma. Soun didn't resist long and fell down under the pressure generated. Genma fought it back and started to expand his aura, which looked like a panda. Soon there was a contest of size between the two fighters' auras. Once they reached thirty metres in height, Genma faltered and fell on the ground, having spent most of his energy. Happosai stopped shortly after that, spent too but still standing. Jotaro noticed that and put him on her breasts for a few seconds. After that, Happosai was as good as new.

"Haaa, that hit the spot," he said. "Thanks for the fix, Jotaro."

"You're welcome," she replied. "Let's leave the idiotic duo there for the night."

They went away, before Happosai stopped and eyed Jotaro guiltily.

"You look better today than when we left," he stated. "That means that you weren't that well. Am I right?"

"You're right," she admitted. "But I saw my best friend and he helped me get over it and now I'm as good as new and I don't hold you responsible in any shape. I'll just never grab you too long ever again."

"That must have been effective if you are so happy today," said Akane. "How did he do this?"

"Lovemaking, a romantic dinner, lovemaking, sleeping in his arms, lovemaking, conversation, lovemaking, listening to music, lovemaking, watching the television, did I mention lovemaking?" listed Jotaro casually.

Akane blushed. She was more comfortable with perversion than before but still blushed heavily when it was talked about.

"You didn't have to be so insistent on the lovemaking part," she mumbled.

"You asked," replied Jotaro simply. Happosai laughed.

"You're still a bit too uptight, student. We'll have to work on that," he said full of mirth. He then turned to Jotaro. "I'm glad you found a way to cope with this. And if you are so interested in the lovemaking part, I know an extensive number of sexual techniques..."

Happosai almost jumped when he had a suddenly deadly serious Jotaro just in front of him with a maniacal glint in her eyes.

"You and I are going to have some thorough conversations, old man," she said dead serious.

"Pervert," said Akane with a smile.

"Don't laugh too much," said Jotaro to her. "You'll be listening to us."

"What! But why?" asked Akane a bit scandalized.

"To desensitize you to perversion," stated Happosai. "Besides, you might learn something useful, remember the matter fading. And it will freak your father out."

* * *

Kasumi was in a bad mood. The plan to get rid of Happosai hadn't worked, and these days he was quizzing her littlest sister in sexual questions. Besides, he was training her in a technique she didn't like. She understood the technique could be useful but did he have to use her as a practise dummy for a pressure point that gave uncontrollable itches? While she scratched herself frantically, she wondered if things could get any worse.

She suddenly felt as if she had tempted fate and shivered.

* * *

A.N: I absolutely worship Happosai. I like characters like him or Ryo Saeba. I however always wondered if he was a pervert by choice. I'm pretty sure my view on him is unique. Be ready for a semi-virtuous Happosai later on.


	12. Slaying The Dreamer

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XI) Slaying The Dreamer

Jotaro opened the door of Mikoto's house, a bit annoyed at being interrupted in his conversation with Happosai. They were talking, not about sex, as could have been expected, but about Chinese literature. Happosai, having spent most of his years in China, was extremely knowledgeable on the subject, which would have surprised many people who thought they knew him. Jotaro came face to face with Soun Tendo with Akane in tow, who was visibly annoyed.

"Soun," he said neutrally but with a hint of frost. "To what do I owe the displeasure of seeing you?"

Soun was a bit put off by the less than stellar greeting but quickly regain his composure. But not for long.

"There's a Dojo Destroyer in the area!" he wailed. "He has taken our Dojo sign and is coming back Saturday for a fight to give us the chance to win it back. You have to help us!"

"Why should I?" asked Jotaro irritatingly. "I want nothing to do with you. Your Dojo, your problem."

"But..." started to argue Soun. "It might be yours when you fulfil the pledge between our families. Don't you want to protect what is yours?"

Akane was openly glowering. She obviously hadn't known that Soun would try to reinstate the pledge.

"I have no involvement in this since I don't belong to either family," countered Jotaro. "However, the way I see it, if you lose your Dojo sign, the pledge isn't valid anymore and there would be no more of this stupid pledge."

Soun started to sweat. He hadn't thought of that. He didn't think that Jotaro would be that cold-hearted.

"Besides, if there really is a Dojo Destroyer, it falls to your daughter to fight him," stated Jotaro. "She is the heir of your school."

"Absolutely," added Happosai who had just manifested himself. "It would be good training for my heir to fight. There _is_ a Dojo Destroyer, isn't it?"

Soun sweated and wordlessly nodded. This plan had gone down the drain. And now he had to find a way to escape the master's wrath.

"Well," finally said Jotaro. "I could help you but I'm not cheap and I'm pretty sure you can't pay the price."

"Do tell," asked Soun with hope in his voice.

"Simple," replied Jotaro. "If I help you I want to have sexual intercourse with you each night during a month."

Everyone's jaws dropped. Soun became extremely nervous.

"Hum," he said, "I'm vaguely flattered but I sort of promised to my wife I would never take a lover again."

"I'm sure she wouldn't have anything against you making love to a man," said Jotaro idly. "After all, chicks totally dig the homosexual guy." As Soun countenance fell, he added: "What? You thought I would use my girl form to have sex with you? Didn't your daughters tell you I made my coming out a few weeks ago at school?"

He suddenly caught Soun in his arms and embraced him from behind, one hand on his torso and the other one on his buttocks, both hands stroking. Soun instantly stiffened

"I can show you one hell of a good time, what do you think?" he asked huskily. He then bit his ear lightly. Soun's reaction was immediate.

"!" he shrieked like a little girl.

He then ripped himself of Jotaro's arms and fled away, screaming all the while. Jotaro instantly resumed his neutral pose. Happosai blinked, obviously surprised. Akane made a disgusted face, clearly disturbed by what she had just seen.

"That was extremely funny," she finally said. "But for the love of all that's holy, don't ever do that again! I don't think I've ever been more disturbed."

"If he doesn't ask for my help again, I won't," replied Jotaro. "So you better tell him that the price for having me involved remains the same. And that if he expect me to fulfil his stupid pledge he'd better be ready to become my sex slave at least."

"I didn't need this picture in my head!" shouted Akane repulsed. "NOOO! I can't help but think on it now! This is all your fault!"

Happosai laughed and sauntered over to Akane.

"Come on, student, time to train for the Dojo Destroyer," he said jovially. "And imagine some punishment in case it is a hoax made by the two idiots."

The pair went away, leaving Jotaro on the doorstep. He was about to go back inside when a glimpse of purple caught his attention. He sighed.

"Yare yare daze," he said softly. "Come out and state what you want, Xian Pu."

Shampoo came out of the tree she had been hiding in, looking extremely self-conscious and slightly scared. She stopped two metres away from Jotaro, not daring to go nearer.

"You know, there is no safe distance against me," said Jotaro, making her jump a little. "I could still get you if you were behind the wall. I'll ask again, what do you want?" Shampoo gulped.

"Great-grandmother ask if want to exchange artefacts against something," she said nervously.

"And what do you have that could possibly interest me?" he drawled.

Shampoo took a small packet of what was obviously powder and showed him. Jotaro, who had extremely good eyes, read the inscriptions on it.

"Powder made from the spring of the drowned boy?" he asked. If Shampoo was surprised he knew about it, she didn't show it.

"If put powder in water, then water has properties of Nannichuan, so Jotaro could become guy permanently again," she said.

Jotaro thought this over, then pulled a canteen of water and a bucket from... somewhere.

"Let's test it," he said.

"No can do," protested Shampoo. "Jotaro must give back some artefacts."

"Not on me, stupid, on you," he shot back.

Shampoo bristled a little before putting the powder in the bucket and emptying it on her. She immediately changed into a green-haired boy. This settled the deal in Jotaro's mind.

"Did your great-grandmother tell you which artefacts she would want to get back?" he asked.

"What?" said Shampoo indignantly. "You no giving back everything?"

"Do I look that stupid?" he replied. "The artefacts are obviously worth much more than that packet of powder and it would be stupid to give back everything just for that. So which ones?"

Shampoo gritted her teeth. This would be harder than she thought. Still, her great-grandmother had predicted that and had told her which artefacts she wanted the most.

"She say crystal ball most important, then green and gold dagger and staff with crescent called Gekkaja," listed Shampoo.

"Any reason why?" asked Jotaro curious.

"Crystal ball allow user to view everywhere Joketsuzoku, Gekkaja liberates ice ki but is very difficult to wield and dagger strange weapon," detailed Shampoo. "It rumoured to kill everyone it scratch but some people survive and be stronger than before."

Jotaro's blood froze. Could it be? He hadn't dared to hope that the Arrow could have had an equivalent but it seemed that there was one. He decided to answer to Shampoo.

"Thanks for the precisions," he said. "But I don't want to exchange anything against that powder."

Shampoo was shocked. She hadn't expected that answer at all. And she had seemed so close of getting some artefacts back. And now the monster (as she called him in her mind) was cancelling the deal!

"What!" she exclaimed. "Why you do that!"

"Three reasons," replied Jotaro. "First, I don't mind my curse and I have actually become quite fond of it. It has so much uses that I don't want it to disappear. Two, your great-grandmother and you tried to rip me off. The effect of the powder is not permanent."

Shampoo was sweating now. How had he guessed? Maybe Cologne had let some of it with her artefacts and he had tested it?

"How do I know?" continued Jotaro, intent on rubbing it off. "Simple, I checked your laws and history. I learned that being male is considered a dishonour. Every Amazon who fell into the Spring of the Drowned Boy lost their honour. You wouldn't have traded your cat curse if this powder had had a permanent effect."

Shampoo winced. He had tricked her and had gotten information out of it. She had totally failed because she didn't think he knew too much about the Amazons but she had been wrong.

"What third reason?" she asked.

"I saw the address of the merchant on the packet," answered Jotaro. "So I'll contact them and buy the packets directly from them."

Shampoo was stumped. He had played her all along. Still, one thing was bothering her.

"Why you ask which artefacts great-grandmother want if no deal?" she asked.

"So I could know what would be the most useful to study first, of course," answered Jotaro. "I didn't know what to start with. Now I've got ideas."

Shampoo's shoulder slumped. He had totally manipulated her into helping him for free. And she hadn't seen it coming. She had utterly lost. As Jotaro went back inside the house, not even bothering to dismiss her, it just left a furiously thinking Shampoo. How was she going to explain this fiasco to her great-grandmother?

* * *

"So there really was a Dojo Destroyer?" asked Jotaro the next Monday to Akane.

"Yes," answered Akane. "It was an invention of the two idiots at first but turns out that there really was one and he learned of what they had done. So I had to fight him and get the sign back from him all the same. He used all the Dojo signs he had collected as his primary weapon so once I stole them from him he wasn't much of a challenge, all brawn and no brains."

"So you've made progress under Happosai," stated Jotaro.

"Yep," replied Akane. "Not even two weeks and it already shows. The old pervert really deserves his title as master."

They arrived to school and stopped when they noticed how many people there were in front of a panel. It was announcing a theatre project aiming at performing Romeo and Juliette. Jotaro saw it from dozens of metres away and told Akane what it was. She immediately became sombre, which actually surprised Jotaro.

"I thought you would like to know this," he said. "You like acting."

"I do like acting," confirmed Akane. "It's just that every time I am taken to play a role, it's a male role. I've wanted to play a female role for a dozen of years and all roles I get are male ones. How much are you willing to bet I'll be stuck as Romeo?"

"That would put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm," conceded Jotaro.

The girl responsible for the project suddenly dashed at Jotaro. She stopped in front of him and resisted grabbing his hands. It was well known that he didn't like people touching him without his consent.

"Do you know where your sister is?" she asked breathless.

"If you want to ask her to play Juliette, don't bother," answered Jotaro. "She would sooner make out with Kuno than play the role. Besides, she's a terrible actor anyway."

"Oh," slumped the girl. "Too bad, she has a real presence. Well, then, Akane. Are you interested in the role?"

At that question, Akane's eyes widened and she immediately started spouting Juliette's part.

"I take that as a yes," said the responsible. "Now we have to make an audition for Romeo. Let's go to the theatre scene."

With that, they went to the theatre room. Jotaro noticed, however, that lots of guys had started whispering, most of them belonging to the Hentai Horde, which Akane still fought each morning since it was good training and they were pretty resilient to her most vicious techniques.

Once they arrived to the scene, Jotaro noticed most of the guys had followed to pass the audition as Romeo. He took the two girls apart.

"We have a problem," he said without preamble.

"What problem?" asked the responsible. Akane, however, noticed something that dismayed her.

"What are Kuno and Gosunkugi doing here? What's the Hentai Horde doing here for that matter?" she whispered furiously.

"Probably trying for the role," explained Jotaro bluntly. "After all, it's easy to put a kissing scene in Romeo and Juliette, even if there isn't one."

"I don't want any of those idiots as my partner!" she said vehemently.

"Those idiots will fight and the only ones who would be decent for the role won't stand a chance. The representation is doomed," wailed the responsible.

"I have a way to settle this peacefully," said Jotaro suddenly.

"What is it going to cost me?" asked the responsible cautiously. Jotaro was well known to be worse than Nabiki.

"Information," replied Jotaro. "You know much about the faculty and I want to know what."

"Deal!" she said without thinking twice on it. "What is your idea?"

Jotaro explained. After that, Akane was trying very hard not to laugh. The responsible was shocked at the idea but it would certainly work. She went to the scene and gathered the Romeo hopefuls.

"There's been a change in our cast," she said. "Akane won't be able to take the role of Juliette since she has too much training. Someone else has been taken."

The guys groaned, then smiled. After all, any girl could do for them and most of them considered the role as training to woo Akane.

"Who is it?" asked one guy eagerly.

"Wouldn't you want to know?" said a very feminine voice from the shadows.

All the guys sucked a breath. To have such a lovely voice, she must have been gorgeous. The owner of the voice advanced and everyone held their collective breath. Then everyone fell on the floor as the recognisable form of Jotaro Kujo appeared.

"Your voice is pretty good," said the responsible. "You'll be perfect for the role with a costume and a bit of make-up."

"Could we add a kissing scene to the play?" he asked. All the guys froze.

"That's not a bad idea," gushed the responsible. "Let's see when."

Jotaro turned to the frozen guys.

"Don't worry," he said in a female voice in a seductive tone. "I don't bite. Much."

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Kuno before rushing out of the room, soon followed by most of the guys. Only three remained.

"Well, that sure took care of the trash," said Jotaro. "Come on Akane, time for the real audition."

The audition went without a hitch after that.

* * *

The play had been going without a hitch. Gosunkugi and Kuno had tried to take Romeo's role but Jotaro had been shadowing him like a hawk and had prevented them from doing anything. Not that he had had much to do, since his hungry looks and disturbing tongue movements had warded them off pretty efficiently.

Jotaro was currently watching Ryoga who was eyeing a strange map.

"So what's your problem, pig boy?" he said neutrally. "Can't read a map?"

Ryoga jumped and glowered at him. He tried to hide said map but Jotaro managed to see it.

"A Spring of the Drowned Boy here? In Japan?" he said rhetorically. "Well good luck finding it."

"I already found it," boasted Ryoga. "It's just behind this wall."

He dashed to the wall, ready to take it down. He wanted nothing more than to tear Jotaro into pieces but had realised that he was too weak. That and his curse made him too vulnerable. But with this Japanese Nannichuan he could get rid of one of his handicaps.

Jotaro eyed the wall of the school and recalled its layout.

"Don't destroy this wall Ryoga, it's a very bad idea," stated Jotaro. "For that matter, you'd better come back when no one is here."

"And have you steal the Nannichuan from me?" snarled Ryoga. "Not a chance in hell!"

"Fine," conceded Jotaro. "I don't want it after all. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Ryoga didn't listen and broke the wall with the Bakusai Tenketsu. There were screams from inside that startled him. Then he got an eyeful of high school girls in various states of undress. He had destroyed the wall of the girl's locker room.

"KYAAAAAAAAH! PERVERT!" was what was heard in a myriad of voices.

"Wait!" he said panicked. You got it all wrong! Dammit, Jotaro Kujo it is all your..."

He never finished his sentence as he was pummelled by the girls who had put their clothes back on. More and more of then took part in the carnage. The slip of paper that was a map escaped Ryoga in the process and Jotaro caught it as the wind was making it flutter. He read it, then went into the now deserted locker room and eyes the floor at a precise place.

"What are you doing in our locker room, mister Kujo?" asked a girl imperiously. "I thought you were gay."

This was the general opinion of all of the girls, who came back from beating on Ryoga. However, where Ryoga was shy against girls and thus an easy prey to them, Jotaro didn't have such a handicap and wouldn't hesitate to fight against them. And given his strength and skill, they didn't like their chances.

Jotaro ignored them and counted the tiles to make sure. He then pulled his finger on the ground and provoked a light explosion that made all the girls jump. He then dug a little in the ground and dragged a piece of old paper. He read it and snorted before exiting the locker room, ignoring the girls all the while. He went to the downed form of Ryoga.

"I found this instead of the spring," he said. And gave the paper to Ryoga.

Ten seconds later, a roar of anguish resonated in the school. It came from Ryoga. The slip of paper Jotaro had found said: "_The Japanese Spring of the Drowned Boy has dried up. If you want to access it, see you at Jusenkyo._"

Needless to say, Ryoga cursed a lot. Jotaro didn't care, he was already in class.

* * *

Akane was holding a bag of cakes she had baked in cooking class. A female Jotaro was eyeing her sceptically.

"You're telling me that your cooking is always horrible despite your best efforts to do otherwise?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes," sighed Akane. "I don't know why. I always try to focus but I systematically fall into a trance when I do that and when my plate is finished it looks normal but is poisonous. I don't know why I'm always failing at it with how much I try."

"It could be a curse," stated Jotaro. It stopped Akane in her tracks.

"A curse?" she asked flabbergasted. "You think I have a curse that affects my cooking?"

"I know it sounds retarded," answered Jotaro. "But it's the only explanation I have for your pathology. Yes, it is one, the way you describe it says so. And when in doubt over the cause of something, blame it on magic."

"You're sure about it?" asked Akane almost hopeful.

"No," replied Jotaro. "But then again, I don't know much about magic. And I don't know any knowledgeable people in this field. So I don't think there's much I can do about it. Ask Happosai, I believe he could be quite knowledgeable with magic."

"I will, believe me," she answered.

Jotaro suddenly felt someone approach. She realised who it was and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Akane.

"Kuno is coming," replied Jotaro.

"This pervert is coming?" growled Akane while readying herself for anything and putting her cakes in her bag.

"Wrong Kuno," corrected Jotaro. "Although our dear Kodachi is quite the pervert too from what I learned, so the term 'pervert' is a bit outdated to distinguish them."

At that moment, Kodachi appeared in the street clad in her trademark leotard and carrying a ribbon in a flurry of black roses.

"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH!" she laughed creepily. "I learned that you cooked delicacies for my Jotaro-sama, little peasant. I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Give them to me or suffer from my wrath!"

"Give these to Jotaro?" said Akane unbelievingly. "No way! I don't hate him enough to do that."

This actually left Kodachi open-mouthed as she hadn't quite expected such a reply.

"You're going to catch flies if you keep your mouth open," said Jotaro idly.

Kodachi's eyes whirled to her and bulged. Incredible as it seemed, she hadn't noticed the red-haired strumpet who had humiliated her at the martial rhythmic gymnastics competition.

"YOU!" she screamed. "You humiliated me! Prepare to feel my wrath!"

She jumped at Jotaro and tried to slash her with her ribbon. However, Jotaro was faster.

Akane didn't understand what she saw. One second, Kodachi was rushing at Jotaro, the next she crumbling on the ground and Jotaro had a hand raised.

"The Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken is such a wonderful technique," said Jotaro as an explanation when he saw Akane's shocked look.

"That wasn't this technique," Akane shot back. "I can perform it and I'm nowhere near as fast."

"It enhances speed," replied Jotaro. "Since I'm way faster than you, it enhances me more."

"I see," said Akane. She realised that she had a long way to go.

"Now, what to do with her?" mused Jotaro. Akane got a wicked grin.

"Leave it to me," she said.

She then took a cake she had baked from her bag and put it in Kodachi's mouth. Kodachi swallowed by reflex. Then her eyes opened wide and she grunted in pain. Her face became green and pimples started to erupt on her face. She got up extremely fast and ran as if the hounds of hell were after her.

"She's got a severe case of food poisoning," said Akane with glee. "She should take a week to heal. And she'll get a bad case of diarrhoea."

"You are one sadistic child, Akane," told Jotaro.

"I didn't see you complain before," objected Akane.

"I never said it was a bad thing," replied Jotaro. "If anything, you still have a long way to go, young grasshopper."

"Amen to that, sister," concluded Akane.

* * *

A young boy with long pony-tailed chestnut hair wearing a giant spatula on his back was in a vacant lot waiting for the person he had sent a letter to come. He had been waiting for a long time for that moment. What were a few mere minutes compared to ten years of his life?

It was easier said than done, though. He ground his teeth in frustration at the wait. The man he was waiting for wasn't even able to be punctual. He was really the worst. The boy thought of the revenge he was going to get but it didn't manage to lift his spirit. He had a lot of pent-up anger to release.

Genma Saotome came to the vacant lot with interrogation on his features. He wondered who could have called him here. He hoped it was someone who brought food. It always put him in a good mood.

He noticed the boy and his spatula and was immediately on edge. This spatula reminded him something, something important. Pity he didn't remember what.

"Who are you?" he asked without preamble. The boy glowered.

"How could you forget the boy you have forsaken?" he asked back while unsheathing his spatula. Genma's eyes widened.

"It's you!" he managed to say before being beaten like an old rug. The last thought that went through his mind was how to divert Jotaro's attention when this got to his ear.

* * *

"Genma was beaten senseless?" asked Jotaro the next day to Akane.

"It was really strange," she answered. "We received an okonomiyaki on which it was written to come at a vacant lot and we found Genma beaten here. He didn't say anything when he woke up. Just said that he had to escape your wrath."

"So he has done something that could make me angry," said Jotaro dismissively but with a feral glint in his eyes. "I might visit him to know what."

"Please don't destroy the home this time," said Akane playfully.

* * *

"A new boy in your class?" asked Jotaro to Akane. He realised that he was doing this more and more. He had gotten used to rely on Akane for information about school.

"A bit strange," confirmed Akane. "He just told "Ukyo Kuonji is the name, okonomiyaki is the game" and immediately started cooking on a portable grill. He cooks a mean okonomiyaki. The strange thing is that he asked about Ranma Saotome."

Jotaro immediately became still, at least stiller than he already was. He sighed.

"He probably is the guy who beat Genma," he stated. "I wonder what Genma did to him and what he wants from Ranma. If I guess correctly, he'll figure that, since I look like Ranma, I should take his place."

At that moment, the door of the classroom banged and an angry-looking Ukyo came through, making a beeline to Jotaro.

"I sometimes hate it when I'm right," said Jotaro neutrally.

"You!" snarled Ukyo. "Why did you abandon me!"

"I'm sorry," responded Jotaro obliviously. "But do I know you?"

His eyes flashed in surprise when he saw Ukyo but only Akane noticed.

"How could you forget about me?" shouted Ukyo. "I'm Ukyo Kuonji!"

"Ah, yes," replied Jotaro carefully. "I do recall Ranma speaking about his good friend Ukyo extensively. You'll have to forgive me for not recognising you but his drawing skills are non-existent, you should know that."

Ukyo was a bit put off by the response he got. Genma had told him that his son had forsaken him and now went by the name Jotaro Kujo. He then smouldered in anger. Jotaro had the nerve to pretend that he hadn't known him! He would show him!

"I challenge you!" snarled Ukyo. "Tomorrow at..."

"No," interrupted Jotaro calmly.

Ukyo gaped. How dare he!

"What do you mean no?" shrieked Ukyo apoplectic. "You think you have a right to say no?"

"Actually, yes," replied Jotaro. "I don't have anything to win from beating you. Why should I bother at all?"

"You owe it to me, you jackass," snarled Ukyo. "So you will fight me!"

"Ranma owed it to you, I am not Ranma. Therefore I owe you nothing," Jotaro shot back.

"Genma said you were his son," snarled Ukyo. "If you aren't Ranma, then you will have to do for my revenge."

Jotaro mulled on this for a minute before sighing.

"Fine," he finally said. "But I reserve the right to do anything I want during the fight. I only fight when there's no limitation, including severely maiming and killing. You wouldn't be the first person I have killed."

Ukyo looked a bit scared for a minute before anger took over and clouded his judgement. Had he looked more closely, he would have noticed that Jotaro was skilled. But he didn't.

"As if you could beat me," he boasted angrily. "I'll turn you into paste! Tomorrow at noon on the baseball pitch."

And he went away. Akane looked at Jotaro.

"Try to dissuade him if you can," he told her. "But don't engage yourself in a fight with him. He's not worth it. I'll make sure the whole school knows this."

Akane nodded and followed Ukyo.

* * *

"Kuonji, wait!" she shouted in the corridor.

Ukyo stopped and turned around. Akane managed to run up to him.

"What?" he asked.

"Since you're so intent on fighting with Jotaro, I think it's only fair to warn you," she said truthfully. "He's the scariest motherfucker that ever walked the earth and the toughest bastard alive."

"As if I care," snorted Ukyo. "I have to beat him and I will. It's a matter of honour."

Whatever Akane's response could have been, laughter wasn't among the possibilities Ukyo had predicted.

"Honour?" she laughed. "He doesn't care about honour. He actually prides himself on being unconcerned by honour. If you fight him for honour, then you're sure to lose."

Ukyo was a bit surprised but regained his composure.

"I will beat him however," he said determined. "I owe it to him for what he and his father have done to me."

"So you are fighting him because of something that Genma did?" asked Akane before sighing. "Poor guy."

"What do you mean, poor guy?" asked Ukyo back clearly startled.

"If you fight him for something that Genma or Ranma did, he will know it," explained Akane. "And he takes such cases extremely badly. He is going to make you suffer in the worst way possible, probably by humiliating you savagely, to the point that you can barely come back to school."

"Humph," snorted Ukyo. "What can he hope to do to me?" Akane sighed.

"The last person who said that was a three hundred years old martial arts master," detailed Akane. "He blew up her restaurant with a remote control bomb after raiding it and put her in the hospital the day after that with several broken ribs, a broken arm and a mangled leg. Given that you aren't a martial artist with centuries of experience, I wouldn't bet much on you."

Ukyo stared at her, not knowing what to make about what she had said. On the one hand, this Jotaro Kujo seemed to be of the worst kind and would try to crush him when he realised why Ukyo was attacking. On the other hand, Akane could have been sent to lie about it by him to discourage Ukyo. That was surely it. Besides, it wasn't as if Ukyo had anything to lose. Except maybe... No, it was impossible. No one had ever found out.

"I don't believe you," he finally said. "If you wanted to prevent me from fighting him, nice try. But it didn't work. I will have my revenge."

"Oh, well. I have tried," sighed Akane. She turned around and prepared to go away. Before that, she turned once more to Ukyo, an ominous air on her face. "However, when your body is broken and your pride is shattered beyond recognition, don't say I didn't warn you."

And she left, leaving a still righteously angry but now pondering Ukyo.

* * *

Genma was recovering in the guest room at the Tendos. It was night and he was sleeping. Not exactly well, however. He was currently having nightmares where dozens of female Jotaros were sending back to him all the people he had ever scammed and he couldn't flee. Needless to say he was spooked. He finally woke up when an image of his wife with a dreadful katana came and asked him to commit seppuku. He sighed in relief.

"Don't be so relieved," said a voice in the darkness. "We haven't even started."

Genma froze. He recognized this voice. He thus tried to flee but realised that he couldn't move his body below his neck. He tried to cry in surprise but no sound came out of his mouth. It was like his dream, only worse since he couldn't escape through waking up.

"You can't speak but I can still read lips," detailed the voice. "There are things I need to know. And you will tell them to me."

Genma turned his head slowly towards the voice, hoping beyond rationality that it wasn't who he feared. His hopes were dashed when he saw the curvaceous figure of the female Jotaro Kujo lit by the moonlight.

"Each time I'm not satisfied with your answers," she said, "I will break something. And I must warn you, these are things you will miss."

Genma whimpered inaudibly.

* * *

The next morning, the Tendos were woken by Kasumi's scream. She was looking in Genma's bedroom with horror filled eyes. There was so much blood that she had thought that Genma was dead. He wasn't, but a thorough exam at the hospital revealed multiple fractures on all of his limbs, four broken ribs, an almost broken spine and countless lacerations. Soun thought of telling the police, then remembered that nobody had ever caught Jotaro in the act and how vengeful he was and he decided not to.

Akane wondered what Genma had done this time to warrant such wounds. Jotaro never went overboard, strange as it might seem. This didn't bode well for Ukyo.

* * *

In the middle of the school's baseball pitch, a strange ring had been erected. It was lined with a black zone. Ukyo was waiting on it while students were coming.

"So that's the guy Kujo is going to destroy," said a student. Ukyo's eye twitched.

"Hey, Nabiki," said another. "How much can I bet on Kujo's victory?"

Ukyo's eye twitched some more.

"I don't take sucker's bet," replied the girl caustically.

Ukyo started to growl.

"Not to mention Kujo would kill you if you ran a betting pool on him and you didn't give him half of your profits," laughed another student.

"WILL YOU STOP SAYING I'M WEAK!" howled Ukyo.

Everybody went still and eyed him as if he'd grown a second head.

"You don't seem to understand Kuonji," said one of his classmates carefully. "Kujo's victory is a sure thing. You simply have no chance to win. We didn't come to see who the winner is, we came to see how merciless Kujo will be with you. It's not a fight, it's your being put to death. We have yet to see him kill someone outright but for all we know, he could start with you."

Ukyo felt silent. What outraged him was not what had been said but how everyone in the public seemed to agree with the speaker. Suddenly, a voice made itself known behind her.

"It's noon," it said. "Punctual to the second. Sometimes I impress myself."

Ukyo turned and, sure enough, Jotaro was there. He had arrived as he had said, at twelve o'clock sharp. He was eyeing Ukyo with a neutral gaze.

"Before we start," he said, "there are things I want you to know."

"I don't care," growled Ukyo. "But tell me anyway."

"I asked Genma about what happened," detailed Jotaro. "Ranma didn't know that you were supposed to come with them. He remembered you coming after them when his father stole your yattai but thought you were just saying goodbye. So he didn't know. And according to Genma, he didn't know about the promise. Genma just asked which he preferred between you and an okonomiyaki and Ranma, not understanding the depth of the question replied 'Okonomiyaki' since he was hungry. So if you want revenge against Ranma, you shouldn't bother. He wasn't at fault."

"He wasn't at fault? He wasn't at fault!" snarled Ukyo. "Because this jackass couldn't answer a question correctly, he made my life hell! I was disowned by my father and the only way I have to get back in his grace is to exact vengeance on Ranma and Genma or to fulfil the promise they did. Since Ranma is dead, I can't fulfil the promise, so I will beat you senseless and regain my honour!"

Jotaro snorted audibly. He then looked at Ukyo in the eye and it made the young chef shiver uncontrollably. He hadn't noticed before but Jotaro's eyes were expressionless, yet managed to instil a feeling of dread in him.

"Your honour? Why would I care about your honour? Honour is a concept that becomes meaningless as soon as one of the people involved doesn't hold it," said Jotaro deadly. "I don't even believe in it and you would want this pathetic excuse to work with me? To me, you're just a spoilt child who's decided to attack me out of spite because he didn't get what he wanted. And I absolutely hate that. I'm going to make you regret messing with me instead of graciously accepting that you couldn't get revenge. Prepare yourself."

Jotaro adopted his loose stance: head tall, proud, his hands in his pockets and his eyes hard as sapphires. Ukyo was upset by such confidence and it didn't please him at all. He thus decided to crush him.

Ukyo sent a barrage of small flying spatulas at Jotaro. They had been resting in two bandoleers strapped on his torso. About twenty of the projectiles rushed in pairs at Jotaro. Jotaro waited for them and Ukyo thought he had already won when Jotaro's hands blurred. Nobody saw what he did but everybody saw the results. He snatched the first two spatulas out of the air. His forearms then described two perfect circles that deflected more than half of the spatulas: a perfect mawashi-uke. The last spatulas were repulsed by the air pressure that the mawashi-uke had produced. Jotaro put his hands back in his pockets, beckoning Ukyo with his gaze.

"Pathetic," he uttered.

Ukyo became enraged and took his bigger spatula to swipe at him. The weapon had a razor-sharp edge. It however did nothing good against Jotaro who evaded the weapon with insulting ease. This did nothing to calm Ukyo.

"STAND STILL DAMMIT!" he shouted enraged.

"Did you listen to what you said?" snorted Jotaro. "You expect me to act stupidly. That's pretty stupid of you. Not only are you a spoilt child but a retarded one too."

"I'M NOT STUPID!" howled Ukyo. "AND STAND STILL!"

"Okay," replied Jotaro. And he stopped evading. Ukyo capitalized on that and swiped at him with all his might. A resounding 'CLANG' was heard and Ukyo felt his arms become numb, as if thousands of ants were creeping up them. He looked at what had happened.

Jotaro had seized the handle of the spatula so hard that his hand had left an imprint on it. He had become as immovable as a rock when he had seized it, hence the noise that had been heard and the shock that had crept up Ukyo's arms. Ukyo looked at the scene with disbelief while Jotaro looked at him scornfully.

"You can't beat me even when I don't avoid you," he said scathingly. "If it isn't proof enough for you that you are way over your head, then you're hopeless. Admit your defeat now and I won't hurt you."

"As if I would," snarled Ukyo while trying to dislodge his spatula from Jotaro's hand. "I'm far from finished."

Jotaro sighed and yanked the spatula so hard from Ukyo's hands that the young chef fell on the ground. He then threw it behind him on the outer part of the ring. The wooden handle of the spatula started to sizzle, confirming Jotaro's suspicion as to the fact that this part of the ring was a heating device. He then eyed Ukyo with a deadly glint in his eyes.

"This was your last chance to surrender," he said neutrally. "You will suffer the consequences of your stubbornness. And believe me when I say that you won't like them."

Ukyo got to his feet and took an enormous dish of okonomiyaki batter before sending chunks of it (the batter, not the dish) on Jotaro. Jotaro evaded them too and they landed on the heating parts before baking themselves.

"If you brought that many weapons," said Jotaro idly, "it's time I reveal some of mine."

Ukyo heard that and jumped towards his spatula. He wanted to retrieve it to defend himself better against whatever it was that Jotaro had brought to this fight. Probably a close-quarters weapon. He was a metre away from it, closer than Jotaro was, when it happened.

The spatula, and the ring under it, exploded under the effect of an explosion. Ukyo was so surprised that he barely had the time to put his arms in front of his face. The shrapnel of the explosion left numerous cuts on his arms, shredding his sleeves and leaving a metal piece and two wood pieces embedded in them. The blow resulting from the explosion pushed Ukyo away and he landed roughly, skidding on the edge of the ring. Only two seconds after he had stopped did he feel the heat of the heating system. He yelped and rolled away from it before inspecting his burns. One of his forearms had a nasty burn on it and one of his pants leg was singed and threatening to fall off. He looked at Jotaro to see what had become of him and gaped.

Jotaro was holding an enormous weapon, easily as long as his arm and ten times as thick. It had a barrel that was at least ten centimetres wide, like the barrel of a tank, and the rotating magazine was a quarter of metre wide. An impressive weapon, all in all. Ukyo just knew that Jotaro had used it to cause the explosion and for the first time since he had met Jotaro, his heart froze in fear.

"A grenade-launcher," said a shell-shocked military geek among the students. "Kujo brought a freaking grenade-launcher at school for a fight. Kuonji is so dead!"

What Ukyo heard confirmed his suspicions but didn't reassure him in the least. Jotaro put the barrel towards him and his heart stopped.

"I should kill you for what you tried," he said neutrally. "But why kill someone when you can make them suffer for a long time? Thus I'll just settle for beating and humiliating you, Ukyo-_chan_."

Jotaro put the grenade-launcher back in Doorspace while Ukyo's heart froze. He knew! How could he know? Ukyo hadn't been exposed in about ten years and this madman had found his secret in a day. Wait... He had said he would humiliate him. He wouldn't...

Jotaro took a ribbon from... somewhere that only a handful of students recognized. Akane was among them and noticed it was Kodachi's razor-sharp ribbon. Jotaro made it whirl around before he looked at Ukyo almost feral (to Akane at least, nobody else noticed anything in his gaze). He then struck.

The ribbon slashed at Ukyo several times but he didn't feel anything, much to his surprise. Jotaro then put the ribbon back where he had taken it from and eyed Ukyo critically.

"You lose," he said simply.

Ukyo eyed him in disbelief, then made one step towards him, intent on teaching him a lesson. Then it happened.

Ukyo heard a multitude of tearing sounds before his clothing unravelled. His uniform vest fell first, followed by his shirt. It revealed that he was wearing bandages wrapped around his torso. Then the bandages fell, revealing nicely developed breast to a gawking student body. Those who didn't believe what they were seeing were definitely convinced not a minute later when the pants and boxers fell too, revealing a patch of pubic hair that was above... nothing. The lack of manhood told it all, Ukyo Kuonji was a girl.

Ukyo realised what had happened when Jotaro took several pictures of her. She noticed that she was naked in front of everybody and screamed indignantly. She hid her privates and her breasts the best she could but the harm had been done. Everybody knew she was a girl. She had spent more than ten years hiding this fact carefully and this psychopath had exposed her to the rest of the world in the worst possible manner. The surge of rage she felt against Jotaro was only dwarfed by the fear she felt when it came to him.

"So this is Ranma's second fiancée," snorted Jotaro. "A transvestite. He could have done better."

"Second fiancée?" said Ukyo gaping.

"Genma didn't tell you?" said Jotaro calmly. "He engaged his son to several girls in exchange of food, money, whatever. You're far from the first girl Ranma was engaged to, nor is your engagement the most valid. After all, Ranma never knew you were a girl so he couldn't be expected to fulfil the promise made between you and his father, especially a promise he knew nothing about. But you didn't even want to consider the eventuality. You wanted what you felt was owed to you, regardless of the people involved. And when you realised you couldn't fulfil the promise, you decided to release your anger on the most convenient target. Too bad for you, you chose me because I absolutely don't appreciate it."

"Bastard," snarled Ukyo, still horribly ashamed at what had just happened.

"Yes I am," responded Jotaro without a care in the world. "And since I don't want you to bother me anymore, I'll make sure you realise to what extend I can be the scariest motherfucker."

Jotaro then blurred and reappeared with his fist deep into Ukyo's stomach. Ukyo gagged and lost her breath, folding under the assault. It wasn't finished. Jotaro brought his knee up and shattered her nose, making blood and tears flow down her face. Ukyo's hands flew to her face, which was what Jotaro had wanted. He propelled his foot into her groin, making her shriek inaudibly under the pain she felt. It didn't hurt as much as it would have had she been really male but it came damn close. Jotaro then shot both of his fists on her torso, crushing her breasts and almost cracking her ribs. She flew away and fell on her back on the heating part of the ring. She managed to howl in pain as her whole back and her buttocks suffered from second-degree burns. She scrambled away on four legs, crying and whizzing painfully since she had lost her breath, in an utterly submissive pose, totally humiliated and horribly beaten. She then noticed a shadow on the ground and lifted her eyes in fear. Jotaro was in front of her and eyeing her like she was a worm.

"I'll have you know that the first time I beat on somebody is always the least painful," he said casually. "So you know what to expect if you bother me again. In a nutshell: don't fuck with me," he growled.

He then lifted her and punched her square in the eye, making her fly out of the ring and falling heavily on the ground before remaining there, unmoving.

"If any of you want to help her," he said to the students, "be my guests. Just make sure she remembers what has happened. And the message I last sent her is valid for everybody."

Akane eyed the battered form of Ukyo on the ground before running to Jotaro.

"Better her than me," she said to him. "I remember a short time when I believed that I could trounce you. I'm glad I came to my senses real quick."

"She didn't know the basics of fighting," replied Jotaro. "And she didn't believe me when I said I said I would destroy her pride."

"So how long have you known she really was a girl?" asked Akane.

"As soon as I saw her," replied Jotaro. "I held it back to give her a chance to surrender. She has no Adam's apple, how could everybody think she was a guy?"

* * *

Ryoga accidentally stumbled in a restaurant that was almost deserted. It was called Ucchan's. He noticed a beaten boy at the counter. He frowned at the beaten boy.

"Excuse me," he said. "But could you tell me where I am?"

"You are in Nerima," replied Ukyo with a smile, a bit marred by the black eye and the broken nose he sported.

"Nerima?" said Ryoga. "So Jotaro Kujo is nearby."

The boy stiffened. He looked at Ryoga with a mixture of fear and suspicion. Ryoga sighed.

"So it was this bastard who did this to you," stated Ryoga with a sad smile. Ukyo's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" she asked imperiously.

"This bastard made my life hell," replied Ryoga. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"Yes, he did this to me," sighed Ukyo. "And he revealed to the world that I'm really a girl."

Ryoga paused, then he eyed Ukyo disbelievingly.

"You're a girl?" he finally said flummoxed. "You don't look like it."

"Fooled you, didn't I?" said Ukyo with a smile, before becoming sombre. "I can't fool anyone in this town, though. Not with the way Jotaro Kujo exposed me. Everyone knows this, that's why I don't have many patrons here."

Ryoga seemed to realise that he was in a restaurant and ordered an okonomiyaki. Ukyo prepared it on her grill.

"And what did you decide to do about Jotaro?" asked Ryoga as he paid for his okonomiyaki and started to eat it.

"I don't know," replied Ukyo. "I would gladly grind his face in the ground but I'm not strong, skilled or simply ballsy enough to do that. So I'll wait until something puts him in difficulty and try to act then but nothing before that. I have a restaurant to run and I can't afford losing too much patrons, I barely have enough right now."

"Smart move," commented Ryoga. "It took me a while to realise it and I got beaten and humiliated quite a few times before I realised it."

"So we are in the same boat," mused Ukyo. "What can we do against him?"

"Taking it out on his friends is out of the question," stated Ryoga. "He doesn't have that many and the only one he has would be avenged by other people."

"Does he have anything that can be used against him as leverage?" asked Ukyo.

"Well, there's his curse, but it wouldn't help us much," answered Ryoga.

"Curse?" asked Ukyo. "What curse?"

"He turns into a girl when he is touched by cold water," sighed Ryoga. "Hot water brings him back to male. I have the same curse, except that I turn into a piglet."

"But," started Ukyo with stars in her eyes, "this is pure gold! How can you say that it won't help us?"

"Because his curse doesn't bother him," answered Ryoga forlornly. "He even likes it. The only reason most people ignore all about it is that he likes messing with people's mind. If we revealed it, it wouldn't bother him much but he would still exact revenge harshly out of principle."

Ukyo sighed, defeated

"So there's really nothing we can do?" she asked piteously.

"I fear not," replied Ryoga in kind. "I hope someone finds one weakness of his that can be used or we're fucked."

* * *

A.N: Enter Ukyo. I don't dislike her but I don't particularly like her. In the manga she's probably the weakest of the fiancées and the most hypocritical one. First time that Jotaro used something else than a gun in a fight. It won't be the last. Next time, Mousse reappears. As for those who wonder about it, I know when the next Stand is going to appear. In chapter XXV... Long wait, I know, but Stands will be more present from this point. And it's not even Mikoto's. I'll probably have fun seeing the readers thought on that, although my choices have already been fixed.


	13. Swanheart

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XII) Swanheart

Happosai and Akane were waiting on the beach for Jotaro. Jotaro had stated that training on sand was a good form of training. Happosai had trained Akane and now she was resting. Jotaro had wandered on the beach in her girl form, trying to find interesting things. When Jotaro came back, she noticed something that made her focus. Happosai and Akane noticed and looked where she was looking. They saw a mane of purple hair belonging to none other but Shampoo. The girl was selling food on the beach.

"I must admit that this girl is a babe," stated Happosai, "but why are you eyeing her so intently, Jotaro? Last I checked, you weren't ogling every bimbo that came across."

"She's Amazon," replied Akane neutrally. "She and her great-grandmother did some nasty things to us, but Jotaro paid them back. It's normal that we are cautious around her."

"Well, that I can understand," sneered Happosai. "Great-grandmother, you say? Maybe it's someone I knew."

"You should," stated Jotaro. "She's none other than Khu Lon, the Joketsuzoku Matriarch. Although she kind of fell in disgrace since she didn't manage to bring me with them."

"Khu Lon? Yes, I remember her," spat Happosai. "She tried to kill me too many times for me to forget. But she never managed and abandoned after a few years but I still wouldn't trust her."

"You shouldn't," replied Jotaro. "She's a crafty old bat. She pushed me to resort to extreme measures. I put a bomb in her restaurant once."

"I can imagine that," said Happosai with a smile. "Khu Lon never knew when to stop and fall back." His grin got sinister. "Want to pay her a visit?"

"I like your way of thinking," responded Jotaro with a smirk.

They went to the small cabin where Cologne and Shampoo prepared food and entered without knocking. Akane followed them to watch the fireworks. When Happosai entered, the first person he saw was Shampoo and he couldn't contain himself.

"SWEETO!" he cried happily before latching on Shampoo's chest. Shampoo was startled by the sudden intrusion of her personal space. Then righteous feminine fury came back to her and she started to try to dislodge Happosai.

"AIYAH!" she shouted. "PERVERT!"

She chased him but didn't manage to hit him as he danced merrily around her hits. The noise attracted Cologne out of the kitchen and she eyed in disbelief a scene she had thought she would never see again as Happosai had disappeared from the world a decade ago. She got her bearings back and tried to hit him with the new cane she had but Happosai managed to evade it. He was the only living being besides Jotaro who had ever managed to do so.

"Khu Lon, you're alive, you crazy old bat!" said Happosai happily. "It's been a long time."

"It hasn't been long enough, Happy," growled Cologne.

"You wound me," said Happosai dramatically. "And to think I wanted to offer this to your great-granddaughter."

He then exhibited a golden bracelet with three pills of different colours. Cologne's eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?" she said aghast. Happosai sneered in disgust.

"It is part of the tribute the Amazons owe me for what their tribe has done to me," he snarled. "Don't tell me you've forgotten." He snorted. "I'm going."

Jotaro and Akane followed him. Cologne breathed deeply. Shampoo eyed her quizzically.

"Who he?" she asked.

"Happosai," replied Cologne, feeling her age. "Another fiasco of our marriage laws. As if Jotaro hadn't been enough. We have a second male who is extremely vengeful against us."

"What happen?" asked Shampoo again.

"He refused to marry an Amazon after a kiss," explained Cologne. "She followed him uselessly for month before being tired and cursing him. To this day, we don't know what the curse did but it killed its caster. As a means of retaliation, Happosai came a few years later and ransacked our village."

"You no stop him?" asked Shampoo, captivated by the story.

"We tried," Cologne shot back. "Believe me we tried. We sent everything we had after him but he evaded us. We noticed that he didn't try to hurt any of us, except for groping us. Then he performed a technique in front of us that left an enormous crater. When we got our bearings back we saw him. I'd rather have forgotten what we saw then. He had the most hatred-filled eyes I have ever seen. So we let him go. We had no doubt that he would start killing us if we resumed fighting him."

"Scary," said Shampoo shivering. "Not as scary as Jotaro but still scary."

"Tell me about it," groaned Cologne. "Now that Jotaro has made an ally of him, our mission has become almost impossible to complete. And to top it all, Happosai still has some of the artefacts he stole from us. This bracelet is proof of that."

"What bracelet do?" asked Shampoo.

"It contains love pills," answered Cologne. "Once swallowed, they make the subject fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex they find. There are three different periods of love. One lasts only an instant, the other one lasts a day and the last one lasts for the entire subject's life. I shudder to think what Happosai would do with them if he knew what they did."

"Happosai no scary," retorted Shampoo. "Jotaro scary. He take slime of a man and give Shampoo pill to fall in love with him, Shampoo know it."

Jotaro cut the receiver for the mike she had left at the cabin.

"Love pills, how quaint," she said while eyeing the bracelet Happosai was wearing with interest.

"Think we should tell them that both of you know about it?" asked Akane with a smile.

"Later," replied Jotaro. "I'm more interested in purchasing this bracelet for study."

"Why would I sell it to you?" asked Happosai while raising an eyebrow. "I could just lend it to you, it doesn't pose any problem to me."

"I feel more at ease just buying it from you since I could destroy it while studying it," answered Jotaro.

"Okay," Happosai shot back. "However, there's nothing materialistic that I could want, so I don't think there's anything you could give it to me in exchange."

"Really?" said Jotaro with a smile. "Not even this?"

She took a video from her Doorspace and showed the packaging to Happosai and Akane. Their eyes bulged, Happosai's becoming filled with a healthy dose of lust. On the package was Jotaro in her girl form in very skimpy underwear and in a very provocative pose. The title just said: "A Night With Jotaro Kujo."

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Happosai while drooling.

"I think so," replied Jotaro with a smile. "Two hours of my sexual feats. Oral, titfuck, vaginal, anal, bondage... If it's sexual then you can probably find it here. Still not interested in the exchange?"

Happosai suddenly discharged an impressive amount of scrolls and artefacts on the ground from Hidden Weapon space.

"Take all of it," he said panting. "But please, give me this video!"

Jotaro gave it to him and packed all the items in Doorspace while Happosai was stroking the video and saying idle love words to it under Akane's exasperated and amused gaze.

"There are just two things I would like you to do with it," said Jotaro.

"Anything, just let me watch it," begged Happosai.

"First, the video remains with you," stated Jotaro. "I don't exactly mind if you see this but don't ever lend it to anyone."

"What do you take me for, girl?" snorted Happosai. "This is my new treasure! I'll defend it with my life."

"Second," said Jotaro with a smile, "I'd really like it if you showed it to Genma and Soun."

Happosai grinned sadistically at that while Akane stifled a giggle.

"We have a deal, Jotaro," he said. "I can't wait to see it and show it to those two."

"If you manage to," said Jotaro. "Let them see it after the credits, there's a hidden Yaoi scene."

Happosai's jaw dropped while Akane succumbed and started to laugh heartily.

"You're a sadistic bitch," he said. "It should give them a heart attack."

"I hope so," replied Jotaro. "Now, what about making it known that I possess the bracelet and that I know what it can do?"

Happosai laughed and went with her while Akane was trying and failing miserably to control her laughter.

* * *

At the local feast, Akane had just won an enormous teddy bear and was carrying it with difficulties, not that it was heavy but it blocked her vision. Jotaro, who had been coming with her, decided to turn it into training and guided her in the crowd, making her navigate without seeing, which she actually found quite fun.

Suddenly, chains yanked the teddy bear from Akane's arms and brought it to their wielder, who revealed himself to be Mousse. He wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Akane Tendo," he said dramatically. "I must take you as a target for a show." He then paused before adding cautiously: "You're way too light to be Akane Tendo..."

"Put your glasses on, Mu Tsu," said Jotaro from besides Akane.

Mousse did so and noticed that he was holding a teddy bear. He chuckled embarrassingly.

"Erm, well," he started. "I wanted someone to take hostage to bring you to the show, Jotaro, but well..." He then got inspiration. "If you want to see this teddy bear again, then come to the show!"

And he went away. Jotaro looked at Akane and shrugged.

"Well, it's sure to be interesting. Let's go," he just said. Akane nodded and followed him to a big tent that was promoting Chinese acrobats.

When they entered, they noticed something strange. A duck wearing glasses was sending knives on Akane's teddy bear which played as a target. None of the knives touched the bear but they came extremely close. Jotaro's eyes widened.

"It can't be," he said.

"I have to admit," said Akane, "a knife wielding duck isn't something you see every day."

"Especially when that duck is Mu Tsu in a cursed form from Jusenkyo," added Jotaro.

Akane's jaw dropped.

"Mou-Mousse!" she sputtered. "It can't be..."

"That what I said too," replied Jotaro. "But I recognise his glasses and his knives. The throwing style is a bit different, what with using a new body, but it is as accurate as Mu Tsu is. Besides, I could recognize the Hidden Weapon technique anywhere."

He made his mind and told Akane to wait in the stands. He then purposefully went to the ringleader and made him interrupt the show. The duck looked at what was happening with interest. The ring leader's eyes bulged when he heard Jotaro's request but he regained his bearings quick.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," thundered the ringleader. "It seems that we have a voluntary live target for our show. Let's applaud Jotaro Kujo!"

The crowd went silent for a few seconds, flummoxed that someone was willing to be a living target for a knife throwing duck. Then Akane applauded, soon followed by the whole crowd. Jotaro went to Mousse and took him in his arms, he then muttered something for a minute before putting him back on the ground.

"Follow my lead," he just said.

He then went to the target post and took his trademark pose, body shaped in an 's' while pointing lazily in front of him with his finger. Mousse started to throw knives by the volley. After a minute, there was a Jotaro shape made by knives. The crowd erupted in applauds. But Jotaro wasn't finished. He changed the training post.

"Now that we've established that you are skilled," said Jotaro with a booming voice, "try to kill me."

He stood lazily in front of the post while the crowd froze at his proclamation. Mousse threw three knives while the crowd gasped. Just before the knives hit him, Jotaro _moved_, leaving an afterimage of himself, sidestepping the knives and letting them bury themselves in the training post to the hilt, showing that they had been thrown with great force. The crowd gasped.

"These should have been for my heart and lungs," said Jotaro. The crowd applauded, thunderstruck.

The show continued in the same fashion for a few minutes, Mousse throwing the knives and Jotaro avoiding them narrowly. The crowd was alternatively holding its collective breath and applauding like crazy. Then Mousse threw two knives to Jotaro's eyes and Jotaro caught them each between two fingers, stopping them barely a centimetre away from his pupils. The crowd went utterly silent.

"Those should have pierced my eyes," he said while discarding the knives. The crowd went utterly wild, then stopped as Jotaro commanded silence. "Let the wizard who trained you come."

He then pulled a large coloured piece of clothe from Hidden Weapon space (he knew how to use it, he just didn't do it often) and put it on the glasses wearing duck. Nobody saw him push a can of hot water and clothes near him. Two seconds later, the drape bulged, making everyone wonder what was happening. It moved by itself for ten seconds before being cut into pieces while a figure jumped from under it before landing three metres away from Jotaro. The figure revealed itself to be a fully-clothed Mousse who was wielding two Chinese curved swords, almost scimitars, in reverse grip do that the tips were almost touching his nape.

"Ready to prove your worth, wizard?" asked Jotaro while he pulled a staff from... somewhere.

"Ready as I'll ever be," replied Mousse. And the fight was on.

The crowd was mesmerized by what they were seeing. Jotaro and Mousse were literally flying around, Mousse slashing at Jotaro who was deflecting, Jotaro trying to clip Mousse while he blocked with his swords. They even flew to the rafters for a minute and fought in the air before landing and going at it again. The crowd noticed that that they seemed to fight with the intent to kill and was frozen at the sight of the battle to death. Only Akane noticed that Jotaro was holding back. Mousse was too but much less. He actually needed all his skill to last against Jotaro. Mousse finally cut Jotaro's staff in two with one of his swords and Jotaro used the two parts of the staff to dislodge the weapons from Mousse's hands. Jotaro then jumped in the air and caught them. As he landed he dashed at Mousse and whirled around him, swords twirling. He stopped three metres away from Mousse and turned around, making the swords clinking together. Mousse's robes immediately fell apart, leaving him only clad in kung-fu pants. Jotaro made a sign to Akane, telling her to be on guard.

"You should surrender now," he said. "You can't beat me unarmed."

A projectile suddenly came to him. He deflected it with the swords, making it fly to Akane who caught it between her hands, close to her face. The crowd gasped as they saw an enormous battle-axe. They turned to see a smirking Mousse who smirked and pulled a spear from his Hidden Weapon space.

"What makes you think that I am unarmed?" he asked with a grin.

"Maybe you are worthy after all," replied Jotaro before readying his swords. "Prepare yourself."

And the fight was on again. Like clockwork, Mousse was making Jotaro releasing his weapons before he took Mousse's and Mousse summoned another weapon to fight him. They went through maces, swords, axes and battle chains, not counting the throwing knives and stars that Mousse occasionally threw. Finally, Mousse managed to dislodge Jotaro's axe from his hands with his chains and to pine his hand. Jotaro eyed him respectfully.

"You are worthy after all," he said. "Very well, I allow you to court my sister."

He then jumped high in the air while the ringleader threw a balloon of water in the air. Jotaro pierced it and changed sexes. Then, while the crowd couldn't see what was happening, she used Star Platinum's Time Stop and changed clothes at high speed. When the Time Stop was released, she was in a skimpy glittering bikini with ankle and wrist bracelets and earrings with a tiara. Her hair was unbound and strew with silver figments. She was also wearing high heels. She landed straight into Mousse's arms and kissed him on the mouth.

The crowd went to tally wild at that. The show would be remembered for years to come.

* * *

"Did you have to kiss me?" asked Mousse once they were at Mikoto's house. Mikoto had assisted to the show too and was distinctly amused.

"It felt appropriate at the time," responded Jotaro. "Besides, you can always consider it as training for when you have a proper girlfriend. There's room for improvement, let me tell you."

Akane laughed heartily while Mousse grew red. Mikoto just smiled. There was always something funny going on around Jotaro. She had made the best decision of her life by inviting her to live at her house. It was never boring around him.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Jotaro.

"I don't know," answered Mousse truthfully. "I thought I was going to try and beg for work to the Matriarch. I still love Shampoo after all. And her exile makes it easier to court her."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," interrupted Mikoto. "You wouldn't get anything from working there. You have to make a situation for yourself before hoping to court her."

"Plus the old bat is totally against your courting her," added Jotaro. "She would prevent you from doing anything. And I'm willing to bet that she wouldn't pay you since you're from her tribe, and male at that."

"I know that but what else can I do?" sighed Mousse. "My visa will come to expiration soon if I don't work and no one else would take an illegal alien for work. The only thing I'm proficient enough is cooking."

"Leave the visa to me," replied Jotaro. "I can get you a full Japanese identity."

"You would do that?" asked Mousse. In response, Jotaro took a photo of him.

"That should do it for ID," she said. "Now what to do with you? It should be easier for you to find work with ID but what kind of work?"

"It would be easier if he just owned a restaurant," mused Akane. Then she stopped and lifted her head towards Mousse. She then turned to Jotaro, who caught on what she thought.

"It could work," she said. "I have enough money to start him. And he can always pay me back later."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mousse.

"He's talking about helping you buy a restaurant," supplied Mikoto helpfully. Mousse's eyes boggled.

"You would do that?" he asked in wonder.

"Totally," replied Jotaro. "If you're proficient in cooking by Amazon standards, then you must be damn good. I buy the restaurant and we each own half of it. I'm paying for your part and you have a zero-interest loan on it. You could pay it extremely fast if you're successful."

"You're going to need waiters to run a restaurant at least," said Akane helpfully. Jotaro eyed her.

"Are you interested in a waitress job?" asked Jotaro. Akane gaped.

"Me? But, I'm training with Happosai..." she started.

"I'll ask him to turn your work into training," cut Jotaro. "Come to think of it, he could also help, both as a waiter and as a cook. You could make a show for the patrons."

"That could work," said Akane with trepidation.

"I'm glad you think so high of this idea," interrupted Mousse. "But there's a problem. I'm more myopic than a mole. It's no problem while I keep my glasses but if I lose them I become useless."

"That can be arranged with Jotaro's technique," said Mikoto suddenly. "Can't it, Jotaro."

"I can," responded Jotaro. "Using a laser, I can carve your eyes and make them act like unmovable lenses. It's a state of the art technique used only by the American army. It should become public in six years."

Mousse looked very interested.

"When could I undergo it?" he asked eagerly. Getting rid of his myopia was a dream of his.

"Now," answered Jotaro. "I just have to check your vision. Follow me."

Mousse followed Jotaro to an annex he had built in Mikoto's garden. He entered it behind Jotaro. It looked like a lab. Jotaro immediately moved several tables that were covered with papers, books and machines. She brought an operation table from somewhere and tinkered with two lasers for a few minutes before sitting Mousse on a chair, projecting letters on the wall and checking if Mousse saw them correctly. He saw them a little blurry and Jotaro put lenses in front of his eyes to correct his vision. Once she had the correct degree of myopia she gave a bottle of red solution to Mousse.

"Take a complete shower with that, hair included," she said to him. "Come back with only your boxers on."

Mousse nodded and took a shower in a part of the annex. When he came out, Jotaro was fully equipped for a surgery. Mikoto and Akane were too. Several implements were on a sterile table near him. Jotaro laid an apprehensive Mousse on the table.

"I'll put you to sleep with shiatsu points," she said soothingly. "This technique is usually used on conscious patients since eyes move while they are asleep but I can immobilize them so you don't have to remain conscious. You'll be unconscious for the length of the operation. I'll also cauterize your retinas. It won't affect your vision in the least but it will prevent them from detach from your eyes and thus making you blind. It's a common affection for myopic people that surgery can correct. I'll then correct your vision. Since you should keep a bandage on your eyes for two days, I'll leave you unconscious all the while. When you come back to your senses, you'll be able to see normally."

Mousse agreed and soon knew no more.

* * *

When he came back to the realm of consciousness, all Mousse saw was black. He panicked for a moment before a voice soothed him.

"You're awake, good," said a male Jotaro. "Don't panic. I haven't taken of your bandage. Didn't want to shock your eyes after two days of full dark."

Jotaro grabbed Mousse's head and started to unwrap the bandage.

"If you don't see anything, it is normal," said Jotaro. "The room is in the dark. Fix the wall in front of you and let me bring light."

Mousse did as he was told. He didn't see at first, as Jotaro had said, but he slowly started to distinguish features. Then a ray of light entered the room as Jotaro opened the shutter. Mousse felt a slight pain. He then opened his eyes fully and noticed that he could see without blurs, better than he had seen his whole life. He shouted in happiness, mindless of the pain.

"The pain should disappear within the day," said Jotaro. "Now put your clothes on and come. We have work to do."

"What work?" asked Mousse.

In response, Jotaro gave him two cards and a sheet of paper. Mousse looked at the cards and noted that they were ID cards. He then looked at the piece of paper which was a deed of propriety.

"I bought a place for a restaurant," he said. We just have to renovate it and it will be ready for work. Let's decide about the arrangement of the place."

Mousse followed him, overwhelmed at the way he was building his future. It probably couldn't have been done without Jotaro. Mousse owed him a lot.

* * *

Ukyo sighed as she prepared to go to school. She had no good ideas when it came to giving back to Jotaro the payback he deserved. She had been the butt of everybody's joke at school after what had happened. The guys were laughing and openly leering at her and asking her why she didn't expose her generous feminine assets more while the girls were leery of her and her cross-dressing tendencies. She had no friends in the new school. Sure, people bought her okonomiyakis but that was all. And it was all Jotaro's fault. To top it all, her business wasn't as thriving as it could have. Probably the effect of her trying to fight Jotaro. The bastard was popular in Nerima since he was the direct cause of the dramatic drop in crime rates.

She suddenly felt a presence she had come to dread. Sure enough, the nearby trash-can started to move towards her.

"Ukyo-sama," it said happily. "I'm so happy to see you."

Ukyo looked horrified, having recognized Tsubasa Kurenai, the person who took the art of disguise at its peak. Then the trash-can growled, having noticed the wounds on Ukyo's face.

"Who did that to you, Ukyo-sama?" the trash-can growled. "Who marred your beautiful face?"

"His name is Jotaro Kujo," she started in shock. "But..."

"JOTARO KUJO!" interrupted Tsubasa. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

The trash-can took off at high speed. Ukyo stood there in shock. Then she remembered how much of a bastard Jotaro was and realised that she had sent a nutcase after him, a pathetic one but still a nutcase. If Jotaro learnt that she was the one who unwittingly sent a nutcase after him...

She started to run.

* * *

"So Happosai started to train me in precision," said Akane to a male Jotaro as they went to school. "His aim is that I be able to use shiatsu in the middle of a battle... Jotaro, what's wrong?"

Jotaro had stopped. Then he blinked. He was using Star Platinum to look behind him like he nearly always did and what he saw puzzled him, to say the least.

"We're followed by a mailbox," he simply said. Whatever Akane had expected, this wasn't it.

"Excuse me?" she said stupidly. What could you answer to that after all?

"There's a mailbox following us," replied Jotaro. "It just stopped."

Akane turned and noticed a mailbox that hadn't been there before. She turned to Jotaro.

"It's probably for you, given your luck," she stated curious. "Do you remember pissing off a mailbox before?"

"Not that I can recall," he answered calmly. "Ranma didn't either. And Ryoga isn't sneaky enough to follow me in such a disguise. Maybe a fiancée Genma got to Ranma behind his back or someone he stole from."

"What are you going to do?" asked Akane.

"Leave it to me," answered Jotaro while fingering his arm. He used a Time Stop and transferred something from his Doorspace to his Hidden Weapon space. The Hidden Weapon space was more easily accessible in emergency. "I have the perfect tool to deal with rabid mailboxes."

The mailbox gained ground before it dashed at Jotaro while howling: "JOTARO KUJO! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Only to come face first with the nozzle of a rocket launcher. It stopped abruptly and laughed uneasily.

"He he," it said nervously. "Can't we discuss things?"

"You came with the intent to kill, so no," Jotaro shot back before shouting: "Fire in the hole!"

He fired a rocket. The mailbox started to flee.

"AIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!" it screamed. It managed to run twenty metres before the rocket touched it and exploded. The explosion was small compared to what Akane had expected. The mailbox came out of it a bit deformed, quite singed and fell down. It didn't move anymore.

"Are there any weapon you don't possess?" asked Akane drolly. "Nuclear ones maybe?"

"I have a nuclear device," countered Jotaro. "I just need to find a guided missile to put it and then I can target the town of my choice."

Akane eyed him with caution. She didn't believe he was lying.

Ukyo suddenly came from behind them and noticed that Jotaro had a rocket launcher. She swallowed and called him.

"Jotaro," she said warily. "Have you used this on something that move, like a trash-can?"

"A mailbox, actually," replied Jotaro. "It looked suspect to me."

Ukyo's eyes widened in horror.

"You killed him!" she shouted. "I know he was a pain but he was harmless! Why did you kill him?"

"Relax," soothed Jotaro. "I used a stunning rocket. It just stunned him and covered him with soot. Now, who is he?"

"He?" said Akane. "This shriek sounded pretty feminine to me."

"It was a male voice, I'm sure of it," replied Jotaro before turning to Ukyo. "So who is he?"

Ukyo put her antipathy for Jotaro aside. After all, she'd better be straight with him, lest he decided to kill Tsubasa, or worse, go after her.

"His name is Tsubasa Kurenai," she explained. "When I went in boy school, he was famous for his cross-dressing tendencies. He always dresses like a cutesy girl. He discovered that I was really a girl who dressed as a boy and figured that we were made for each other. Since then he's been following me in his disguises. He finally found me a few minutes ago and when he learned that you beat me he decided to go after you."

"Well, it's not really your fault," said Jotaro. "So I probably won't do anything to you. Probably."

This didn't exactly reassure Ukyo.

"Let's wake up sleeping beauty and explain to him why exactly it is a very bad idea to take on Jotaro," suggested Akane.

The trio went to the mailbox after Jotaro had put his rocket launcher... somewhere. When they came to it, Jotaro used the Bakusai Tenketsu on the box, making it crumble under Ukyo's shocked gaze and revealing a cute girl with a school uniform wearing long chestnut hair. Akane had difficulties in believing that this was a boy but Jotaro had never been wrong before and Ukyo had confirmed it. Jotaro put a feet in his side, making him groan. He woke up and saw Jotaro. He then had the natural reaction that someone in his shoes would have.

"HHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!" he howled. "PSYCHOPATH!"

"Stop making a nuisance of yourself or I use a real rocket this time," threatened Jotaro.

This effectively shut the cross-dressing boy up. He looked, terrified, at Jotaro, sending pleading looks at Ukyo.

"Now, listen to me," said Jotaro deadly. "Ukyo challenged me to a fight and lost. That's why she is banged up. You never go to a fight and expect to come out of it unscathed. So no more of this killing business for ruining her face. Do we agree?"

Tsubasa nodded hurriedly.

"Now, as for your love for Ukyo," said Jotaro calmly, "you won't encounter opposition or interference from me. Go for it!"

Tsubasa looked deliriously happy while Ukyo looked outraged.

"HEY!" she shouted. "Don't push him back onto me!"

"Your nutcase suitor, your problem," replied Jotaro. "Come Akane, we'll be late."

Akane stifled her laugh and followed Jotaro while Ukyo gaped at Jotaro's sheer... whatever but it irked her.

"Oh Ukyo-sama!" cooed Tsubasa while holding her. "Our love is written in the stars. Even your fiancé approves of it."

Ukyo gnashed her teeth. Then she got an idea to get rid of Tsubasa.

"I know a girl cutter than me who might desire you," she said.

* * *

After school, Jotaro was surprised to see Tsubasa waiting for her. At least she acted surprised. She had been waiting for it.

"You're cute!" said Tsubasa, shrilly. "Would you go out with me?"

"No," replied Jotaro calmly.

"Why?" cried Tsubasa. "Is it because I'm a girl?"

"I know you're a boy," said Jotaro loud enough to be heard by everybody and thus crushing more than one schoolboy's fantasy. "Even if you were a real girl, I like my partners more mature than you, be they male or female. That's why I don't date anybody at school, they're so immature..."

This crushed most of the boys' dream and those of several girls too.

"However, my brother might like you," said Jotaro. Tsubasa froze.

"You met him this morning," supplied Jotaro helpfully. "He goes by the name Jotaro Kujo, same as me. He is totally gay and your body type attracts him."

"Bu-But I'm not gay," stammered Tsubasa.

"Doesn't matter to him," replied Jotaro. "You wouldn't be the first guy he has taken by force and converted to homosexuality. All of his victims have become hopelessly gay. Who knows, you might be the next."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" shrieked Tsubasa before fleeing, never to be seen again in Nerima despite Ukyo's presence.

"Is it a good idea to give your brother the reputation of a sexual predator?" asked Akane.

"Doesn't matter to him as long as it is the truth," replied Jotaro frankly. "He hasn't found anyone of his fancy here, that's why he hasn't turned in anyone."

"You speak of him as if he were a vampire," noted Akane.

"True," replied Jotaro. "Now to deal with a trouble maker."

She made a beeline towards where Ukyo was. Ukyo shifted nervously. Jotaro couldn't know she had sent Tsubasa after her, right?

"Found it funny to send Tsubasa after me, didn't you?" said Jotaro flatly.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" asked Ukyo nervously.

Jotaro picked something from her shoulder, a small black thing she hadn't noticed on her clothes.

"I heard you send him after me with this mike," she said neutrally. "I put it on your clothes this morning when you didn't notice. This calls for punishment."

Ukyo sweated and started to shiver.

"Don't worry," replied Jotaro calmly. "It won't be violent. It might even help you."

This didn't reassure Ukyo in the least.

* * *

Ukyo growled at her grill, cursing Jotaro. It was the busiest night she ever had at her restaurant but it didn't fill her with joy. Sure, Jotaro's revenge hadn't been violent and sure it brought her customers.

But did he really have to put posters of her naked with her restaurant's name all around the town? He even had painted a version of her (still naked) making a come-hither sign on her windows. The paint was indelible. She knew, she had tried to take it off.

Two new patrons entered, making Ukyo glare. They had better not ask her if she served her okonomiyakis in Eve's clothing.

* * *

A.N: Short chapter, I know, more like a filler. But I wanted to do something light for a few chapters. The really interesting ones are already written. Since I somewhat lack imagination, I'm making the most of the manga. Besides, Tsubasa is too funny to ignore. I also rather like Mousse, although I think that Takahashi made him a bit too stupid, like most of her chararacters,really. Next time, we meet principal Kuno and Happosai relearns his Happo-Daikarin.

* * *

Since Stands won't appear until much later, I decided to list my favourite Stand battles in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, starting with Part 3.

5th: Joseph Joestar (Hermit Purple) and Muhammad Avdol (Magician's Red) vs Mariah (Bast). One of the funniest fights ever. Mariah makes everyone her Stand touches magnetic. When both Joseph and Avdol had affected, this leads to a lot of funny embarrassing situations for them.

4th: Kakyoin Noriaki (Heriophant Green) and Jean-Pierre Polnareff (Silver Chariot) vs Hol Horse (The Emperor) and J. Geil (The Hanged Man). One of the most dramatic fight in Part 3, especially when Polnareff cries over Avdol's (supposed) death, as well as one of the smartest resolutions. The Hanged Man can travel at light speed and hide in reflexive surfaces, including people's eyes, but Kakyoin manages to make his path predictable allowing Polnareff to defeat him.

3rd: Jean-Pierre Polnareff (Silver Chariot) and Iggy the dog (The Fool) vs Vanilla Ice (Cream). Without a doubt the most dramatic fight of the series especially with the sudden (and real) death of Avdol and, later, of Iggy. Polnareff reveals himself once more as an extremely ballsy character and loyal to a fault when he cries over his friend's deaths. Vanilla Ice, despite his ridiculous name, reveals himself as the toughest, most loyal and most dangerous of Dio's henchmen, with his Stand that devours space.

2nd: Joseph Joestar (Hermit Purple), Kakyoin Noriaki (Heriophant Green), Jean-Pierre Polnareff (Silver Chariot) and Jotaro Kujo (Star Platinum) vs Dio Brando (The World). The last and longest fight and the most impressive, especially since it takes time for the charzacters and the reader to determine that Dio can stop time. This leads to some surreal and terrifying scenes where Dio totally befuddles the others. One of the most dramatic fights, what with the death of Kakyoin and the temporary death of Joseph. And Jotaro uses his bluff in a surprising manner.

1st: Jotaro Kujo (Star Platinum) vs Daniel J; D'Arby (Osiris). One of the least violent fights but the most interesting nonetheless. D'Arby The Player manages to outsmart Polnareff and Joseph and had a lot of contingency plans to deal with Jotaro but Jotaro is skilled, observant, ballsy and a master at bluff. The conclusion of the fight is the funniest moment in Part 3. Definitely the smartest fight.


	14. The Islander

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XIII) The Islander

"Why should I fight you?" said Jotaro to Ryoga. Ryoga growled.

"I need to fight you at my house," he snarled. Jotaro caught upon what Ryoga really meant and sighed.

"Would it kill you to just ask me to take you home?" he sighed. Ryoga growled again.

"Shut up and bring me there," he said. "My dog just had pups and I want to see if she is all right."

"Shirokuro?" replied Jotaro. "I remember her. Come on, let's bring you back home."

Ryoga growled but followed Jotaro.

* * *

As Jotaro was going back home from where Ryoga lived, he met Akane.

"What are you doing here?" he asked without preamble.

"Well, Ryoga said that his dog had pups and since I've always wanted to see some I decided to come and see them," she answered. "Did you come for the same reason?"

"Not really," said Jotaro. "Ryoga just wanted me to bring him back to his house since his sense of directions is defective. He wasn't very polite about it."

"Tell me about it," sighed Akane. "I almost refused since he is so angry usually."

Jotaro mused for a few seconds before he grinned.

"Want to play a prank on Ryoga?" he asked.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Akane curious.

"Brother?" said Ryoga aghast. "I have a brother?"

"Half brother, actually," replied Akane while stroking a pup. "He learnt about it recently. I don't know the full story but he should be here soon."

The doorbell rang. Ryoga dashed to the door and reached it after taking a few wrong turns. He opened it with trepidation... and fell on the ground when he saw Jotaro who was obviously waiting for him with a basket of fruits in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

"Akane didn't tell you?" asked Jotaro seemingly oblivious.

"Tell me what?" said Ryoga irritably. "She just told me that my half-brother was coming." He paused before a look of horror crossed his face. "No... It can't be..."

"Yes, Ryoga," said Jotaro in a monotonous voice. "I'm your half-brother."

"NO!" he screamed. "You're lying!"

"Search you feelings, Ryoga," replied Jotaro intently. "You know it to be true."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" howled Ryoga.

Then he fainted.

Jotaro blinked. He hadn't expected Ryoga to react that badly to his joke. Akane came and noticed Ryoga on the ground.

"What happened?" she asked.

Jotaro told her. Her response was predictable.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed. "That's cruel!"

"No," countered Jotaro. "Were I really cruel, I would leave him here and let him believe that what I said was the truth."

"Let's not be that cruel," giggled Akane. "I've already laughed enough for today. Go away, I'll just tell him."

Jotaro went away and Akane waited till Ryoga woke up before telling him. His curses and death threats towards Jotaro were heard nearly a mile away.

* * *

"Stupid technique," muttered Happosai. He continued to grumble while Jotaro and Akane were working on renovating Mousse's restaurant.

"What has gotten into him?" asked Jotaro to Akane.

"He has forgotten how to perform one of his signature techniques," replied Akane. "He wanted to cow the two idiots and threatened them with a Happo-Daikarin."

"Happo Fire Burst?" uttered Jotaro. "Pretty name. What does it do?"

"Don't know, he has forgotten how to do it," answered Akane. "He made them believe that he was merciful and that he wouldn't use it on them this time but it irks him that he has forgotten it. It must be pretty effective, though. Soun and Genma were more terrified than usual when he mentioned it."

"Sounds interesting," replied Jotaro. "I'll ask him later about it."

Once their work was finished, Jotaro asked Happosai to come along at a vacant lot.

"What did you want?" asked Happosai, curious.

"I heard you forgot how to perform your Happo-Daikarin," he said, making Happosai frown and grumble. "Tell me what it does, how you think it works and what you remember about it. Maybe I'll be able to help you recreate it."

Happosai nodded and pulled out his pipe. He sat down and started to explain.

"The Happo-Daikarin is a ki-based technique that aims at compressing an insane amount of ki in a small amount of space and allows it to be sent away before the ki-matrix holding it up unravels," he detailed extremely seriously. "When it unravels, the ki undergoes a violent decompression which translates in an explosion. I shape it like a firework because of the latent time before explosion. It takes all its characteristics, including its size and weight, even its fuse."

"So basically you produce a delayed bomb out of ki," summarized Jotaro. "I can see how useful it could be." He paused. "Why a firework, though?"

"Because this technique is younger than me by only forty years," replied Happosai proudly. "And at that time dynamite hadn't been invented, neither had modern explosive devices. The most efficient time-delayed explosive throwing device was a firework. And since it works so well, I've never seen the use in revamping it. Maybe I should, at least when I remember how to do the damn technique!"

"If it is delayed, people can throw it back to you, provided they have the time," noted Jotaro. Happosai laughed.

"I'd like to see anyone throwing back a ten metre wide firework that weights a few ton," he cackled. Jotaro paused.

"Are you telling me that you can produce the equivalent of several tons of explosives with ki?" he asked only slightly bewildered. He had met Yoshikage Kira after all.

"Yes," replied Happosai happily. "Once, I produced a hundred metre wide crater with a Happo-Daikarin. And I'm not sure I actually reached the limit of the technique. I'm also not sure if there's actually a limit."

"But you never tried because you couldn't produce a really big one and get out of the range of the explosion," deduced Jotaro. "What else can you tell me?"

"Well, I remember doing this," he said while making convoluted gesture with his hand. "But I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any actual use, except maybe as a mnemonic way to remember it once you know. Oh, and I decided to seal this technique twenty years ago after I accidentally burnt a bra with it." Jotaro blinked.

"How is that last piece of information relevant?" he asked while trying to hide a smirk.

"Not at all," answered Happosai. "But given how you're trying not to laugh I'd say it is funny."

"So nothing else you can tell me?" asked Jotaro more serious.

"If I were to try it, it would explode in my hand," said Happosai. "Like this."

He summoned some ki in his hand and an explosion was heard, though not a powerful one.

"So you only have problems with the containment matrix," stated Jotaro.

"That's the gist of it," admitted Happosai. "If you manage to do it, I would be grateful if you told me how to do it. If you manage to gather ki out of your hand, that is."

Jotaro said nothing and held his hand. Soon, a light was emitted from it. Happosai looked in wonder as the ki gathered. Jotaro then compressed it, making the resulting ball as small as a needle's head. Then it exploded, slightly singeing his hand. He grimaced.

"I have no problems with gathering ki and compressing it," he said. "It's the containment that's causing me problems. I'll have to think on it."

* * *

Two days after that, Happosai went to Jotaro' house happily. Well his happiness was marred by the fact that Soun and Genma had tried to attack him when they learnt that he didn't know how to use the Happo-Daikarin anymore. It irked him that they thought that he was vulnerable without the technique. He trounced them for good measure, just to prove that you don't teach tricks to an old monkey.

"What do you want, Happosai?" asked Jotaro. "I haven't finished the technique. Or you remembered something else about it?"

"I actually remembered something," answered Happosai. "Something golden. I actually made a manuscript detailing the technique before sealing it. I remembered this morning where it is."

Jotaro got up.

"Is it far?" he asked eagerly despite his emotionless tone.

"One hour from here," replied Happosai.

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Jotaro. They both went out into the forest.

While they were travelling in the forest, Jotaro noticed something and stopped. He motioned to Happosai to rest on his shoulder and to speak in a low voice.

"Did you by chance mention loudly that you had a manuscript of your technique somewhere?" asked Jotaro idly in a low voice.

"I might have," answered Happosai in the same low voice. "I was so happy that I shouted about it."

"That would explain why Soun and Genma are following us," said Jotaro casually. Happosai froze, and then cursed softly.

"Don't worry," continued Jotaro. "You said that it was on an island in the middle of a hot spring. If my hunch is correct, then I have an easy way to deal with them. Just trust me."

They advanced in the forest before Jotaro caught something through the foliage. His eyes were decidedly impressive. He had been right with his hunch.

"Now is the time for some acting," he said in a low voice to Happosai. Then he said extremely loud: "So the parchment for the technique is on the island in the middle of the spring in front of us!"

There was a rustle behind them before Soun and Genma barrelled and passed before them before rushing to the island.

"What's the plan?" asked Happosai calmly. He knew that Jotaro had something planned for them.

"You'll see," answered Jotaro. "It should occur... now."

As Soun and Genma came into the spring and started to dash at the island, several cries were heard in the water.

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKK! PERVERTS!" was all that they heard before being pummelled mercilessly by a horde of naked women who had chosen this spring to bath.

"Wait!" wailed Soun. "You've got it all wrong!"

It obviously didn't matter to the ladies who continued their beating. Jotaro took opportunity of this and reached the island unnoticed. He dug under the lone rock that was there and found a scroll that he put in his Doorspace with a satisfied smirk. Happosai watched him from the opposite bank, clearly impressed.

"I love it when a plan comes together," said Jotaro loud enough to be heard by everyone.

The girls and women turned to him, ready to deliver a harsh beating on the other impudent pervert who had dared to violate their sanctuary. They were immediately stopped when Jotaro's figure literally lit up, enshrouded in purple and black flames. He eyed them emotionless. His eyes bore into them and all the women shivered. Soun and Genma would have shivered too, had they been conscious. Happosai was impressed. He hadn't seen it much but it impressed him, even hidden as he was in the bushes.

"I don't believe in gentlemanliness," warned Jotaro. "Attack me and I will respond a hundredfold. You have been warned. Besides I'll be going now."

He dispelled the Neko-ken and prepared to jump away. A woman noticed something strange. Jotaro had never ogled them, he had always looked at them in the eyes. He was a far cry from a pervert.

"You're not a pervert," she stated. "You didn't ogle us."

All the other women turned in surprise towards her. Jotaro eyed her impassively.

"Why would I?" he asked rhetorically. "I don't know you. I only ogle people I know. Ogling someone you don't know is like marvelling at the wrapping of a present: it's essentially useless to me."

The women were impressed at his integrity. Not many men could be among naked women and remain completely impassive.

"I'll be going now," he said. And cleared the spring with just one jump, impressing the women even more. He grabbed Happosai and went away. The women blinked and noticed that Soun and Genma were waking up. They readied themselves for another beating.

It was a painful evening for Soun and Genma.

* * *

Happosai was reading the scroll Jotaro had brought back. He frowned.

"Anything interesting?" asked Jotaro. He hadn't read the scroll yet. Happosai sighed.

"It's unreadable," replied Happosai piteously. "I don't even remember how to read my pathetic writing."

"You've got to be kidding me," said Jotaro flatly.

"I wish," whined Happosai. "I can't even decipher the first kanji. It's old Chinese and I can't remember it."

"Show me," said Jotaro. Happosai gave him the scroll and Jotaro read it. Or at least tried to. Happosai was right, it was unreadable.

"Are you sure you didn't write it in a language that you're the only one to master?" asked Jotaro. "The only kanji I recognize are "threads" and "woven". I don't recognize anything else."

Jotaro turned to Happosai and noticed that he had stilled himself. Then he jumped in the air happily.

"Eureka!" he shouted. "I remember! And it's all thanks to you!"

"What have I done?" asked Jotaro curiously.

"The key to the matrix is woven with threads of ki," replied Happosai. "Watch and learn."

Soun and Genma were trying to follow Happosai and had come near the lot where he and Jotaro had stopped. They saw him and tried to sneak on him. Then a firework appeared in his hand. Genma and Soun swore. He had recreated the Happo-Daikarin. They were screwed.

Jotaro heard them and acted. He caught the Happo-Daikarin and threw it where he guessed the sound had come from. The fuse terminated when it was above them. The Happo-Daikarin burst, catching Soun and Genma in the explosion. They were blown away and fell in front of Happosai and Jotaro, covered in soot.

"I think I know how to do it," said Jotaro. "Let's try it."

He put his hand in front of him, slightly closed, and concentrated. Light coalesced into the hollowed delimited by his finger and was compressed into a small ball. Then a metal casing appeared, composed of small scales. Soon, Jotaro had a hand grenade in his hand. He took the pin off and threw it at Soun and Genma. Genma's eyes widened.

"Grenade!" he screamed girlishly. The grenade rolled on the ground and stopped in front of the idiotic duo. Soun screamed in fear.

The grenade exploded with more force than the Happo-Daikarin had. Genma and Soun were blown away from where they had lain. They crashed into the wood fence around the lot and fell heavily on the ground.

"Not bad," commented Happosai idly. "Powerful too. You should call it the Kujo Grenade Burst."

"Good name," replied Jotaro. "I have another idea for the technique."

He put his hand in the same position but at his side and palm facing down the earth this time. The ki coalesced once again but this time the casing took the shape of a rocket.

"Fire in the hole!" he shouted. And the rocket flew away.

Soun and Genma shrieked and scampered away. The rocket exploded on the fence, totally destroying it with a deafening explosion, more powerful than the grenade had been. Happosai looked at the splinters with awe.

"I think I'll call it the Jotaro Rocket Strike," said Jotaro evenly.

"You really impress me, Jotaro," said Happosai truthfully. "You performed the technique after seeing it once and you improved it on the spot. You're a monster at ki manipulation."

"It was vital energy this time," explained Jotaro. "Otherwise, with ki, the rocket would have lacked propulsion and wouldn't have exploded. It's a technique you can't learn old man. Not without a dozen years of learning. Sorry."

"I don't exactly care," replied Happosai. "I can do the Kujo Grenade Burst, I'm sure of it, and that's enough for me. We should write down the techniques on scrolls."

"Legibly this time," said Jotaro with a smirk.

"Laugh it up, you smartass," replied Happosai with annoyance.

* * *

"You can't learn the Happo-Daikarin, Akane," said Happosai sadly. Akane fumed and prepared a scathing retort.

"At least not yet," interrupted Jotaro, who was in her female form. "If we focused on ki manipulation at the exclusion of everything else, you could probably learn it in a year and a half. With your regular training and school, it should take five years before you learn it, and two more years for you to become really proficient with it."

"I would have said a bit longer," added Happosai. "Two more years at least."

"She knows how to harness her ki since she knows the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken," replied Jotaro. "She thus has good bases in ki manipulation, although the hard part comes later. So I think she could use it in five years. Don't forget, Akane," she said to her, "that although we practice this technique with casual ease, it is a very difficult one which implies ki manipulation beyond your current level. So all in all, don't be impatient. There are other techniques you need to learn before that one."

Akane had calmed throughout Jotaro's explanation. She was strangely satisfied despite not being allowed to learn the technique now. One reason was that she would learn it, only later and after learning other things meanwhile. The other one was that they estimated that she could do it, even if not now. It made her happier than anything else. Her father had always shirked training her in advanced techniques, never giving her the hope of ever learning anything remotely dangerous. Her sensei and Jotaro had all but promised to take care of this problem and didn't treat her like a doll. It definitely made her happy.

"I have altered the technique in another way," suddenly said Jotaro. "I can create landmines out of it. I put them on the ground and they are triggered when something or someone steps on it. You could do it too, Happosai."

"Really?" said Happosai. "Could you show me?"

Jotaro nodded and produced a landmine out of ki. Happosai watched her intently so as to be able to reproduce it. Akane looked at it too and had to admit that such a ki-construct was way beyond her level. Jotaro put the mine on the ground and a 'click' was heard.

"Now it is armed," said Jotaro. "And it can't be stepped on without exploding."

"Impressive," said Happosai wonderingly. "However, it was probably a bad idea to arm it inside of your house."

"Don't worry," said Mikoto as she came from the kitchen with tea. "Jotaro learned to dissipate them harmlessly."

_That_ caught Happosai's attention. Jotaro put her hands on the mine and concentrated for a minute. She reabsorbed the ki compressed in the mine, effectively disarming it. The containment matrix fell apart and vanished into wisps in the air. Happosai was suitably impressed.

"Impressive," he said awed. "I didn't know it could be done."

"It can also be done with a Happo-Daikarin," supplied Jotaro helpfully. "However, since it takes time, you have to lengthen the fuse at the same time to prevent it from exploding, so it's more difficult to achieve. It doesn't work with the Kujo Grenade Burst, though. I'm trying to find a way to defuse it. I'll probably have to release the ki in the atmosphere instead of reabsorbing it."

"It's more than enough," countered Happosai. "I thought I was the sensei and you're showing me things I have to learn like a student. Soon you'll be the only sensei and Akane and I will be your students."

"I wouldn't count on it," replied Jotaro. "There is much I have yet to learn."

At that moment the doorbell rang. Jotaro detected Shampoo behind it and went to open it. She summoned Star Platinum as a safety measure.

"Xian-Pu," she started. "What can I do..?"

She never finished her phrase as Shampoo threw something at her mouth. Jotaro used a Time Stop and time froze just as the item was about to enter her mouth. She stepped back and noticed that it was a mushroom that she knew. The Amazons used it to condition people to execute an order with a chosen noise. Cologne had probably sent her great-granddaughter to take back artefacts from her with this. Too bad it wouldn't have worked. Star Platinum conditioned the access to the Doorspace where Jotaro stored said artefacts and wouldn't have just handed them like that. That didn't prevent Jotaro from severely disliking the old ghoul's method and she decided to take revenge.

As the Time Stop was released, Jotaro caught the mushroom in her mouth but didn't swallow it. Shampoo let out a cry of victory and Jotaro acted. She spit the mushroom directly in Shampoo's mouth. Shampoo wasn't prepared for such a counter and swallowed it.

"Give a French kiss to the closest old person in the vicinity," she said while snapping her fingers.

Shampoo froze in horror before rushing into the house where Happosai, Akane and Mikoto were waiting.

"Shampoo, what are you doing here?" asked Akane.

Shampoo didn't listen. She rushed at Happosai and gave him a kiss full on his lips, putting her tongue inside his mouth. Happosai was so shocked he didn't react while Akane and Mikoto eyed the scene with wonder. After three seconds, Shampoo stopped and shrieked incoherently. She then gagged and dashed to the kitchen to throw up in the sink. Jotaro snorted.

"Even more effective than I thought," she said with a smirk.

"Not that I minded being kissed at all but what happened?" asked Happosai.

Jotaro told them about the mushroom. Soon, Akane was doubled over in laughter. Mikoto giggled while Happosai had a smirk on his face.

"You shouldn't giggle, Mikoto," he said happily. "Had you been closer, she would have kissed you."

The sound of Shampoo brushing her mouth fanatically was heard.

"Why would I mind?" replied Mikoto. And she snapped her fingers.

Shampoo immediately dashed from the kitchen and kissed Mikoto hungrily. When she stopped she shrieked again.

"What do you know," mused Happosai. "It does work. Who knew Khu Lon's great-granddaughter would be such a hungry kisser?"

Shampoo made a plaintive noise. She didn't even notice when Jotaro searched in her pockets and took away more mushrooms. She put them into Doorspace for future use and stuck a small loud-speaker on her collar. The loud-speaker produced a snapping sound. Shampoo's eyes widened in horror and she kissed Happosai again. She then wailed pathetically and fled the house.

"The loud-speaker I put on her activates every three minutes," said Jotaro with a broad smile. "I wonder how long it will be before she notices it."

All the other started laughing.

* * *

Shampoo was becoming extremely angry. She hadn't found the source of the snapping sounds and it had taken four hours for the effect of the mushroom to stop. She had kissed at least five old people on her way to the Nekohanten. And once inside, she had kissed at least two more before Cologne took her away and closed the restaurant. But to her horror, the effects hadn't stopped.

Cologne sighed as she crushed the loud-speaker she had found on Shampoo's collar. The plan to take artefacts back from Jotaro had backfired spectacularly. And she had spent a horrible night as retaliation. Being French-kissed by her great-granddaughter repeatedly for nearly four hours wasn't her idea of a pleasant evening. She dreaded what Jotaro could do to them with the mushrooms she had stolen, all the ones she possessed in fact. She didn't like the possibilities, not at all.

* * *

"Hercules' noodles?" asked Akane.

"I managed to get some," said Happosai. "They give supernatural strength to the person who eats them."

"I'm sensing a "but" there," interrupted Jotaro. "Otherwise you would have eaten them."

"There are two inconvenient side-effects," confirmed Happosai. "I have actually eaten them, but one of these side-effects obliged me to take the antidote."

"What are the side-effects?" asked Akane.

"The least bothersome one is that it increases the production of male hormones," explained Happosai. "It isn't bothersome to males but it causes the apparition of a moustache on females, as well as a loss of breasts."

Akane shuddered.

"It's a good reason not to take it," noted Jotaro. "It could even affect my girl form. I'm not sure I want to know the bothersome effect."

"It grants you power but no control," explained Happosai. "I couldn't hold a glass without breaking it and I accidentally destroyed several doors. I couldn't touch anything without breaking it. That's why I took the antidote. Power without control is useless and dangerous."

"How right you are," stated Jotaro. "You can always keep you Hercules' noodles to play a prank on an unsuspecting female, let's say Khu Lon."

Happosai grinned.

"Have I told you that I like the way you think?" he asked candidly.

* * *

"The principal is coming back from what I heard among the staff," said Jotaro to the vice-principal. "What I would like to know is why they were so terrified about it."

'_What _I _would like to know is how you got into this room while_ _the doors and windows were closed,_' thought the vice-principal. He sighed.

"Our principal is a lunatic," he finally replied. "There's no nice way to put it. He's been at Hawaii for the last three years, so the students don't remember, but the staff does. He obliges them to enforce weird laws, lest they be sacked. I don't have this problem but there's little I can do to counter him."

"What do you imply by 'lunatic'?" asked Jotaro.

"He has a weird fetish for shaved heads," sighed the vice-principal. "He wants all the girls to have short hair and all the guys to be shaven bald. He doesn't hesitate to cut hair himself by surprise. He also is a sticker for the uniform and once stripped a girl in front of everybody because she didn't have one. And he inflicts weird punishments to students for things he perceives as an offence, even when they actually aren't. He doesn't hesitate to enforce his rules violently."

"Sounds a bit over the top to me," said Jotaro scornfully.

The vice-principal eyed him carefully and mulled over something.

"You might be able to do something," said the vice-principal eventually.

"How so?" asked Jotaro.

"You stand out the most among our students," answered the vice-principal, "so he will most assuredly target you first. However, you are the best pupil of the country. So he can't expel you without losing his support in high places and would be sacked if he did. Thus you are in position to retaliate without consequences. I ask you to do so. It might divert his attention from the other students and if you beat him at his own game he might stop his antics. Just remember that I never told you that. You are just too headstrong to obey such a madman and that's all there is to it."

Jotaro understood that the man was shirking responsibility for this and expected him to solve the problem. But he had been honest about it and he risked his place if their conversation became known. Besides, he had helped him and Jotaro had nothing to lose in helping him. At worst he'd effectively be expelled but it would cause problems to the principal and he could integrate whatever high school he wanted with his perfect grades. So he had no problems with the 'mission' he had been saddled with. He would probably have done it all the same even if the vice-principal had forbidden him to do so.

"Well, as far as everybody else knows, I never even came to see you," replied Jotaro. "They don't need to know."

He prepared to leave. The vice-principal was obviously grateful.

"Just remember not to play his games and, knowing you, you should be fine," he said to him.

Jotaro nodded respectfully and disappeared from view.

* * *

"Are my eyes deceiving me or is there a snowman attacking students and trying to cut their hair?" asked Akane bewildered.

"You're not dreaming," replied Jotaro. "The worst part about it is that, if my information is accurate, this snowman is actually our principal in disguise."

"I know this town is strange but this is pushing it," stated Akane. "I'll start blaming you for the weirdness."

"Can't blame this one on me," replied Jotaro. "He was already like that three years ago."

At that moment the snowman came behind Jotaro and grabbed his pigtail, trying to cut it. However, Jotaro was faster.

The scissors it held were thrown away as Jotaro performed a mawashigeri, a rotating kick. The scissors embedded themselves into a wall, only their handle pointing out of it. Jotaro then took the snowman's head and ripped it off, revealing a tanned man with sunglasses and a palm top on his head. He had an unnaturally large smile. He took off the rest of his disguise, revealing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and a ukulele that shouldn't have been concealed into a disguise.

"Aloha keiki," he said happily. "I be da principal, Big Kahuna."

The students eyed him in disbelief, except for Jotaro. The principal's gaze fell on Jotaro.

"You dere," he shouted. "Dat uniform isn't regular. What is your name, keiki?"

"Jotaro Kujo," replied Jotaro while eyeing the principal with a neutral gaze. "I also happen to be the best student of the nation according to the last mock exam. I'm allowed a certain leeway thanks to that. Pleased to meet you."

The principal paused. He was insane but even he understood that he could hardly mess with a student of this calibre. He would be in no end of trouble if he punished him too much or expelled him. He would have to break the little upstart himself.

"Aw, such an honour to have a student dat good in my school," he said with a big smile. "Take dis as a present."

He threw a pineapple at Jotaro. However, Jotaro had spotted a fuse coming from it. He caught it and sent it back at its sender. The principal caught it as it exploded, singeing him.

"Pathetic," stated Jotaro. "Let's wait for him in the hall, he probably has a speech to deliver to us."

A while later, the whole school was in the great hall waiting for the principal's speech. Almost all of them were gossiping on the new principal and what had occurred between him and Jotaro. The principal came on the scene with bandages, thanks to the explosion he had previously sustained. The room grew silent. No one noticed Jotaro transferring an item from Doorspace to Hidden Weapon space. However, everyone noticed that the staff was very nervous.

"Aloha, keiki," shouted the principal happily. "Is good to finally be back. I bring a present for you."

"A free pass for one grade?" asked one student eagerly.

"Better," replied the principal with a big smile. "A new rule concerning haircuts. Dese be the new regular haircut."

He brought down a panel. The panel showed a girl's head and a boy's head. The girl had really short hair while the boy had a shaven head. The students protested as a whole. The principal's smile grew wider.

"Dese be the new haircuts," he said with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "It's da rule. You must have same haircuts as da panel says."

"Which means that the rule is nullified if there's no panel anymore," said Jotaro calmly but loudly enough to be heard from everybody.

He then threw an item on the panel. When it touched it, the item vanished in a ball of flames. The flames instantly consumed the wooden panel before dying out. The students looked at Jotaro with wonder, impressed that he had had the balls to bring and use an incendiary grenade at school and wondering where he actually got it. The principal looked at his former panel with shock, his smile having vanished.

"Mah panel!" he cried. "How could you?"

"You shouldn't try to enforce stupid rules," Jotaro shot back. "You wouldn't like the consequences."

The principal trembled before jumping of the scene, grabbing a flummoxed Akane and going back on the scene with her. He then put his scissors near her hair.

"You being a bad keiki," he said at Jotaro. "You shave your head or Big Kahuna shave hers."

Akane didn't appreciate being manhandled. She propelled her foot into the principal's groin. The man released his scissors while groaning before folding on himself, releasing Akane who got off the scene.

"I think the rule isn't about to be applied," she said.

"Not so fast keiki," said the principal while standing up unnaturally fast after the blow he had received. "You have to take dis coconut from da Big Kahuna to annul da rule. It contains a slip of permission in it dat allows you not to respect da rule."

He then went away, not noticing that Jotaro had been close to his escape way. Meanwhile the student had regrouped to discuss how to gain the coconut. Kuno had put his pride away for once and was discussing with them. He had bad memories of shaven heads. His father had done that to him when he was younger and he hadn't liked it.

"We have to fight him to get this coconut," he said.

"You mean this coconut?" asked Jotaro idly.

The students all turned to him. He was indeed holding the coconut. He opened it and took a piece of paper in it.

"No Follow Da Rules," he read aloud. He then turned to Kuno. "Your father is a real piece of work, Tatewaki."

All the students paused and looked at Kuno, who had frozen.

"Thou lie," he said. "That madman cannot be my father. I don't believe it."

"His last name is Kuno," enumerated Jotaro. "He was the principal here three years ago. He knows some hair cutting techniques that belong to your family and that you should remember since he used them on you. Lastly, his son's name is Tatewaki."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cried Kuno in anguish. For once the students sympathized with him. Kuno was a nutcase but even he didn't deserve a father like that.

"HEY! Where is dat coconut?" was heard from under the school.

"You mean the one with the "No Follow Da Rules" paper in it? I've got it here, in the great hall," shouted Jotaro.

The school was treated to several cries of pain and explosions. The principal had obviously booby-trapped his escape route and hadn't expected to take it in reverse. He came from where he had disappeared, slightly singed and his clothes in a poor state. Jotaro waived the very recognizable slip of paper.

"You lose, fool," he said. He then paused before adding: "Upon reflection, you're not a fool. It would be insulting to fools to say so."

The principal hung his head low in defeat.

"You win, keiki," he said sadly. "I no enforce haircut rules." He then brightened. "I have new rule: samurai haircut for boys and geisha haircut for girls. What do you think?"

He was treated to the sight of a gun between his eyes and started to sweat. What student would be crazy enough to take a gun to school? He had to be crazier than him or have balls of brass. The gun then lowered before targeting his groin and he sweated more.

"How about you forget any rules about haircut and I don't blow your balls off?" asked Jotaro threateningly.

"Okay," squealed the principal. Jotaro put the gun back in Doorspace.

"Glad you approve," he said neutrally. "People with burst balls always howl like pigs. I don't really like that."

He then went away. The students gave him a wide berth. They knew he was dangerous but they didn't know he had the balls to bring a gun at school. And the things he said about balls... It implied that he had already done it!

Jotaro went away without a care. He had completed his mission and had tamed the principal. Nothing else mattered to him.

* * *

"It was extreme," said the vice-principal later that day to Jotaro. "But it worked. However, he is likeable to call the police on you for illegal gun possession."

"It will only discredit him more," replied Jotaro. "You think I would have drawn this gun in his presence if I didn't have a foolproof way to hide it?"

"And how do you hide it?" asked the vice-principal.

Jotaro made a pass and the gun appeared in his hand. He made another one and the gun disappeared.

"I turn into a girl with water," he said simply. "How do you think I make it disappear?"

"Magic?" asked the vice-principal rhetorically.

"Close enough," replied Jotaro. There was nothing more to add.

* * *

The next day, as Jotaro was coming to school, he saw a few traps on the road. He jumped over them, wondering who was dumb enough to think he would fall for such obvious traps. He had his answer a few metres from school when an explosive pineapple came onto him. He avoided it and looked at the school's wall. The principal was at it. He wondered what brought that on.

"Dere's a new rule," he shouted. "All the late students have to clean da toilets for a week."

"And what makes you think that I'll be late?" asked Jotaro.

"Ah'm working on it," said the principal before launching several explosive pineapples at Jotaro.

Jotaro grabbed each and every pineapple and threw them back at the principal. One of them exploded, triggering the explosion of all the others. The principal was engulfed in a large explosion. He came out of it completely singed. Jotaro came into the school and grabbed him by what remained of the collar of his shirt.

"You shouldn't mess with me," he said. He then released him and took several steps back. "My turn."

Two rockets formed in his hands before launching themselves at the principal. He shrieked like a girl as the rockets exploded and propelled him out of the school. The bell rang.

"According to your new rule," stated Jotaro idly to the downed and groaning form of the principal, "you have toilet duty for the rest of the week. Have fun."

He went to class as the principal grumbled some more.

* * *

"Why is the principal blocking the boy's toilets?" asked Akane.

"According to a rule he invented and that I turned against him, he has toilet duty for the rest of the week," answered Jotaro. "It's probably his retaliation."

"Not much of a revenge," noted Akane.

Two police officers came to Jotaro, who stopped and eyed them curiously.

"Jotaro Kujo?" asked one of them while sighing.

"Yes?" responded Jotaro.

"Sorry to bother you but we have to search you for explosives," said the other one. "We know that you helped us a lot but we have to follow the rules and search you since the principal accused you of carrying explosive devices and a gun."

"Sure," replied Jotaro. "Do it."

The police officers were a bit stunned at his willingness and searched him. They didn't find anything. The principal, who had gleefully come to assist at the scene, eyed Jotaro with disbelief.

"Everything is in order," said one of the policemen. "It seems that we were lied to."

"Not totally," replied Jotaro. "I did manipulate explosives. I sent back the explosive sent at me by the principal. If you want to find them, search his office."

The two policemen whirled around and eyed the principal pointedly, making him sweat.

"We will have to search your office, sir," said one of the policemen.

"You can't," he shouted. "I was da one to call you."

"And you proclaimed false accusations," countered the other policeman. "We have to ask you to come with us to search your office."

They grabbed him while he tried to flee.

"HEY!" he shouted. "You can't do dat. Dammit keiki, dis is all your fault!"

* * *

"A waterproof soap?" asked Jotaro bewildered. "It kind of defeats its purpose."

"I know it sounds retarded," replied Akane. "But it works, if only for a small amount of time, approximately four hours. It prevents a Jusenkyo curse from being activated or deactivated. Genma used it after he snatched it from Ryoga, who took it from Shampoo. Genma was disgusted that the effect lasted only a few hours. He tried using it continuously but he won't have enough for more than a week."

"Sounds interesting," replied Jotaro. "Do you have it?"

"I have better," replied Akane happily. "Happosai managed to snatch the address of its maker from Shampoo and gave it to me. Here it is."

She gave it to Jotaro who put it in his Doorspace for future consideration.

"Where is he, by the way?" asked Jotaro about Happosai.

"Bothering the hell out of Cologne," replied Akane. "Remember the mushroom you gave to him? He managed to make Cologne swallow it and is now making her fondle her customers. Needless to say, most of them have fled her restaurant.

"Serves her right," retorted Jotaro. "Wish I could have seen it."

* * *

A.N: The Happo-Daikarin is one of the funniest attacks of the manga, I couldn't pass on that. As for principal Kuno, well, he stays. He is too funny. Next time, something that doens't appear in the manga. We see more of Motoki.

Continuing from last chapter, here are my favourite Stand battles in Part 4.

5th: Rohan Kishibe (Heaven's Door) vs Cheap Trick (no User). A funny Stand, extremely vicious and bothersome. It illustrates Kishibe's resourcefulness and Koichi's dedication to his friends. The end of the battle (with the phantom street) is one of the most intelligent in the whole series.

4th: Rohan Kishibe (Heaven's Door) vs Ken Oyanagi (Boy II Man). Rohan Kishibe in all his splendour against an extremely strange Stand but extremely dangerous since it can steal other Stands. Kishibe has to resort to Shizuka Joestar and her Achtung Baby to win this match. Ken inspires him as a manga character.

3rd: Koichi Hirose (Echoes) and Jotaro Kujo (Star Platinum) vs Yoshikage Kira (Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack). One of the most epic fight of the fourth Part, with Jotaro in an extremely precarious position. This fight reveals Koichi's courage and makes him worthy in Jotaro's eyes for the first time. Koichi allows Jotaro enough time to recover and to put Kira in a bad position by antagonizing him even when he is on the verge of death. Kira's escape is also really incredible. Notice that Sheer Heart Attack isn't a Stand by itself, it's just the right hand of Killer Queen and additionally one of the toughest and most ruthless Stand ever.

2nd: Josuke Higashikata (Crazy Diamond) and Hayato Kawajiri (no Stand) vs Yoshikage Kira (Killer Queen), Straycat (User is a plant-cat hybrid, yeah, I know) and Yoshihiro Kira (Atom Heart Father). Hayato reveals himself as a ballsy kid when he sacrifices himself to detonate one of Kira's bombs. He helps Josuke a whole lost, especially when he notices that Straycat is firing air bombs. Josuke manages to use his Stand in smart ways, especially since it doesn't work on him. Okuyasu finally saves him when everything seems lost and neutralizes Straycat. But Koichi and Jotaro eventually prevent Kira from using his Requiem Stand. Kira's death is an anticlimactic one but a fiiting one for such a secretive individual.

1st: Hayato Kawajiri (no Stand) vs Yoshikage Kira (Another One Bites The Dust). Kira's extremely strange and yet extremely powerful Requiem Stand. One of the only fights in the series where one of the fighters isn't a Stand User (not counting the first two seasons). Kira's Stand is terrifying especially when it first appears: Kishibe notices that Hayato can predict the future (albeit unknowingly) and reads about Kira's real identity. At that moment, he reads "Kishibe Rohan got killed". Another One Bites The Dust then appears and kills Kishibe. The Stand then reverses time until Kira discovers who found his identity. It manages to kill Kishibe a second time and to kill Jotaro, Josuke, Koichi and Okuyasu. Time flows back another time but this time, Hayato manages to outsmart Kira in an impressively intelligent way by making him reveal his identity himself to Josuke, thus obliging him to recall his Stand and preventing the deaths. One of the most epic fight of the whole saga.


	15. Ghost Love Score

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

**

* * *

WARNING:** lemons ahead, with a Yuri among them. If you don't like, don't read.

* * *

XIV) Ghost Love Score

"You've found a girl you like?" asked Jotaro eagerly to Motoki. Motoki nodded.

"Her name is Reika Nishimura," he replied. "And I've become good friends with her."

They were sitting in a café not far from Motoki's college.

"Sounds promising," stated Jotaro.

"She's extremely beautiful and refined," added Motoki.

"Better and better," continued Jotaro.

"And there are signs that show that she likes me," finally said Motoki with a red face. "Her foot is touching mine when we sit together and she sends me knowing hungry looks."

"What are you waiting for, then?" asked Jotaro rhetorically. "Swipe her off of her feet!"

"I intend to do that," replied Motoki. "But first I wanted to see you and put an end to our relationship. Don't get me wrong, I still intend to be your friend, but I can't have sex with you anymore."

"I should hope so," retorted Jotaro. "It's a bit old-fashioned of you but very nice. Now, go tell her."

"Now?" asked Motoki a bit nervous.

"If you don't, I'm telling her that you love her but are too shy to say it to her face," threatened Jotaro.

"You wouldn't!" gulped Motoki.

"Try me," replied Jotaro with a smirk.

"You would," sighed Motoki. He rose from his seat and took a deep breath. "No time like the present I guess. Well, I have bought her a ring, it should do."

"Let's find her," said Jotaro with finality.

Motoki used Jotaro's phone to give her a rendezvous and soon went to the place he had designed to her. It was in Juuban's park. Motoki soon found her waiting for him. She had dressed elegantly. Jotaro saw her, noticed that she was a redhead like his girl form and wondered if he had something to do with Motoki's hair preference. He pushed Motoki at her so hard that the blonde almost fell.

"Motoki?" said Reika as she saw him stumble. "You said that you wanted to see me."

"Yes," said Motoki flustered. "I have something to tell you. I should probably have told it sooner but I had to make peace with my mind before. Reika... Will you be my girlfriend?"

He opened his hand and presented the ring to Reika. She was speechless but managed to take the ring and put it on her finger. She then said a timid and heartfelt "Yes" before kissing him gently. Jotaro clapped behind them, making them jump in surprise.

"Good for you Motoki, I knew you could do it. See you later," he said before strolling away.

"Who is that?" asked Reika.

"Jotaro Kujo," answered Motoki. "My best friend, confident, all around badass and the one who convinced me to do my declaration to you. I also had to tell him about it before actually doing it."

"Former lover?" asked Reika almost eagerly.

"You could say that," replied Motoki truthfully albeit uneasily.

"Great," said Reika, although she was a bit surprised. "Chicks totally dig the bisexual guys."

"Funny," noted Motoki, "he said the same thing to me. Maybe there's something to it after all."

They went away while holding each other at the waist lovingly, speaking inanely. They might have decided to go at Motoki's apartment but this is a story for another time.

Meanwhile, Jotaro was wandering in the park. He was extremely happy for Motoki, even if it meant that their 'friends with benefits' period was over. Maybe it was time for him to find another one.

He came across a pond and sat on a bench, eyeing it while musing. He realised that he had lucked out while meeting Motoki. He didn't exactly know how to accost people. Nearly all of his friends were made through mutual combat, it was what had happened with Akane and Josuke Higashikata, even with his own grandfather and most of his friends. Others were made through mutual interest in obscure fields, like Doctor Tofu, Happosai, Giorno Giovana, Hayato Kawajiri or Rohan Kishibe. Some were even gained through protection, like Motoki or Koichi Hirose. All in all, Jotaro didn't know how to make friends normally. It wasn't really a problem to him since he was a loner but it became one when he wished for companionship.

He suddenly noticed an altercation between girls. All five of them seemed pretty common except the obvious victim who was ganged upon. She had turquoise hair and was wearing a school uniform. They hadn't come to blow but they were close. He went to them.

"We don't want to see you here, fucking dyke," said one of the attackers. Jotaro found the scene eerily familiar.

"I haven't done anything to you," replied the aquamarine-haired girl defiantly despite being overwhelmed. "Why are you bothering me? You don't interest me, so you have nothing to fear from me."

"It doesn't matter," sneered another girl hotly. "We don't want to see a dyke like you in our territory!"

"The park doesn't belong to anyone," shot back the turquoise-haired girl. "I have as much a right as you do to wander in it."

"Didn't you hear us?" growled another girl, a tall one. "You go out of there or we'll make you."

"Then make me," said the turquoise-haired girl firmly.

The other girl cocked back her hand and prepared to deliver a slap. The aquamarine-haired girl saw it coming but readied herself to be hit, although she kept her eyes open.

The blow never connected. As the hand was ten centimetres away from the girl's cheek, Jotaro _moved_. He caught it two centimetres away from the cheek. The girls were all shocked. Jotaro had moved so fast that he seemed to have teleported. The turquoise-haired girl eyed him with a mixture of shock and gratitude.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned to her.

"Yes," she replied. "You didn't let her hit me."

"Do you want me to deal with her or do you want to do it yourself?" asked Jotaro.

"Huh?" she said surprised. "Why do you ask me?"

"Well, you could be prideful enough to want to deal with the trash yourself," detailed Jotaro while the girl he held was striking him to get him to release her. Jotaro didn't move an inch. "A bit stupid but understandable. Or you can let me deal with it."

"I'd rather you dealt with them," replied the aquamarine-haired girl. "I am indeed prideful but I know I am far from skilled in fighting, unlike you obviously. If you could do it for me I would be grateful."

"Girls," said one of the remaining girls with fear in her voice. "We might want to get away from him real quick. He's dangerous."

"Dangerous my ass," growled the girl Jotaro was still holding tightly. "I'd like to see how dangerous he'll be after I do _this!_"

She propelled her foot into Jotaro's groin. Unfortunately, the only thing she managed to hurt was her foot. She cried in pain before eyeing Jotaro disbelievingly.

"No way!" she uttered through her pain. Her ankle was bruised. "It can't be!"

"Oh yes, I can," replied Jotaro. "I just intercepted your foot with mine so fast that you didn't see it."

"He's the Yakuza Slayer," shouted the girl that was frightened. "He sent a hundred of them in the hospital in Juuban alone! My brother who works for the police told me so."

"Your brother should have told you another thing," said Jotaro idly before his voice hardened. "I don't believe in gentlemanliness."

He then released the girl and punched her in the stomach so hard that she flew away on five metres before skidding on three. She was unconscious by the time she hit the ground. The other girls eyed Jotaro fearfully, except the aquamarine-haired one who was just awed by what she had seen.

"Pathetic," stated Jotaro scornfully. "I didn't even break any ribs, let alone pierced her abdomen, and she's still unconscious. Or maybe I've been battling martial artists too much. Who knows?"

He then turned to the three remaining attackers who all took a step back.

"Get lost," he said deadly. "And don't ever harass her or I'll know it and I'll make you regret it. You have been warned."

"Why do you side with this dyke?" said one of the girls stubbornly. "She won't put out for you."

"Is sex all you think about?" wondered Jotaro aloud. "In my experience, homosexual people make very good friends since they are way more sensitive than heterosexuals. Besides, they usually are quite interesting. More interesting than you at least. I'm pretty sure that I would enjoy conversation more with her than with all of you combined. So get lost!"

Jotaro called forth the Neko-ken and the malevolent purple and black aura enshrouded him once again. The girls fled immediately when they saw that. They didn't even take their downed friend. The girl woke up due to the pressure of the aura, became really frightened and fled as fast as her injuries allowed her. Once he didn't see them anymore, Jotaro deactivated the dreaded technique and turned back to the remaining girl who was obviously a bit ill-at-ease.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I know this technique is really frightening, but it got them away real quick."

"It's all right," replied the turquoise-haired girl. "You did help me, mister..?"

"Kujo," replied Jotaro. "Jotaro Kujo. Age sixteen, going on forty one."

"Michiru Kaioh. Age fourteen, going on fifteen," replied the girl while holding her hand. Jotaro took it without hesitation. She was still shaking a little.

"Cigarette?" proposed Jotaro to her while holding a pack of cigarettes that he had gotten from... who knows where.

"I don't smoke," replied Michiru, although she eyed the pack with something akin to envy.

"I don't either," Jotaro shot back. "I only smoke when I'm particularly stressed or happy. Less than a pack a month. This few won't kill me." He put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Michiru let herself be convinced and took a cigarette from the pack. Jotaro lit it for her as she puffed on it. Her first breath of smoke made her cough since she had never smoked in her life. She took a deep breath then another drag on her cigarette. The second drag went better than the first and she felt a feeling of pleasantness and victory. She looked at Jotaro and noticed that he had no cigarette anymore.

"You have already finished your cigarette?" she asked, wondering how he had smoked it so fast.

"Not at all," replied Jotaro. And the cigarette appeared on his lips. Michiru opened wide eyes. "I'll do it slower this time."

He opened his mouth wide, holding the cigarette between his bottom lips and teeth and with a manipulation of said lips put the still lit cigarette on his tongue before closing his mouth. He then did the same process his reverse and the cigarette was once again on his lips.

"How did you learn to do this?" wondered Michiru. "I thought you didn't smoke."

Jotaro looked at her shrewdly.

"I'll tell you a secret," he said amusedly. "I spent three hours in front of a mirror with an unlit cigarette to get this trick done at reasonable speed. By the end of this training, I knew how to do it with five cigarettes at a time and I could even drink a beer with the cigarettes still in my mouth."

Michiru couldn't help it. She laughed at the absurdity of the effort taken to learn such a flashy (and useless) trick. Just like that, the ice was broken.

* * *

Michiru had invited Jotaro to a café to thank him for his help. They had spoken inanely at first, going on likes, dislikes, dream and aspirations. It would have felt the same to Jotaro as his encounter with Motoki, except for one detail. They were poles apart. Whereas Michiru liked classical music and was an accomplished violinist, Jotaro worshipped Rock'n Roll, Electro and Metal and was a devil with a guitar and keyboards. While Michiru dreamed of becoming a famed violinist, Jotaro wanted to remain in the shadows, fighting for the sake of it. While Michiru was on her way to become a perfect lady, Jotaro was on his way to become the most feared individual among the underground rings. Poles apart, there was no other terms to describe them. The only things they had in common was their general aloofness, coolness and disregard for some conventions. And still, when put together, they made it look like they had been best friends for years.

Jotaro was now demonstrating why he was considered a master at poker with a card set he had gotten from... somewhere. It wasn't that he was especially lucky when the drawing took place but he was a master at bluffing. He had beaten D'Arby the Gambler after all, which was no small feat.

"So you make it look like you can cheat without getting caught when you actually don't and you make your opponent fold that way," summarized Michiru.

"I can actually cheat without getting caught," countered Jotaro. "But pretending to is way more fun and rewarding. Besides, I never play for money, so why bother cheating?"

"You're a piece of work," smiled Michiru. She then became more serious. "There was something I wanted to ask you."

"Go on," said Jotaro, noticing that she was hesitant.

"When you said that you thought homosexuals were more interesting, was it just a ploy to get these other girls out or were you saying the truth?" she asked frankly. "Or was it just a ploy to get close to me?"

"I might not have said the whole truth," answered Jotaro calmly. "To my mind, one's sexual preference has nothing to do with one's worth. However, I never lied about my experiences concerning homosexual people. One of my deceased friends was a well of languages and his boyfriend was a mathematical freak. I don't know that many homosexuals but all the ones I know are interesting people. As for getting close to you..."

"Well?" asked Michiru curious.

"I wanted to get close to you but probably not in the sense you're implying. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely wouldn't mind doing the horizontal tango with you, you're quite stunning for your age and you have the potential to become a top model. But what I desperately need is another friend. There are at most seven people I'm in friendly term with. Two of them are my instructors, one of them is the vice principal of my school, one of them is my student in martial arts, one of them is the owner of the house I live in, one of them is a business partner and only the last one is my friend for the sake of it. I don't make friends easily. It usually doesn't bother me but it gets heavy sometimes. Even more so since more than twenty of my former friends recently disappeared in a disaster. Some of them are alive but I don't know where."

"You don't count your parents as friends?" asked Michiru sympathetically. Even she, loner as she was, had more friends than that.

"My biological parents are just that," sneered Jotaro, "the ones who gave birth to me. I put my biological father in the hospital for the torture he made me endure before and my biological would want me dead if she knew what I have become."

"Sounds like you don't relate to people too well," noted Michiru. "And I thought I was a loner..."

"In my defence, people are much too superficial for my taste," countered Jotaro. "Boys are jealous of me, for my skill, my looks or my academic performances and girls just see me as a trophy date. That's why I wanted to speak to you even though you are a lesbian. You're way less likely to drool over me. I don't want to sound conceited but I'm so much above the majority of people in all fields that it becomes bothersome to relate to them."

"I totally understand," replied Michiru. "Boys just want me as a trophy date since I'm good-looking and a model student. That's partly why I am a lesbian. Sadly, most girls are jealous of me."

"We're more alike that we thought," concluded Jotaro.

They spoke some more before parting ways after exchanging phone numbers. As Michiru was about to cross the street, she noticed a commotion. Jotaro did too for that matter. A bank was in the process of being robbed. The criminals went into a van and started to get away, driving towards where Michiru was. At that moment someone pushed her roughly and she fell on the road, rolling a little and finding herself in the middle on the road. She noticed that the van was coming at her at great speed and that it didn't seem to brake. Her insides turned stone cold and time seemed to slow.

'_I'm going to die,_' she thought with certainty. Her life flashed in front of her eyes as the van came nearer. She soon felt anguish at all she always wanted to do and now wouldn't.

'_I haven't even kissed anybody,_' she thought while tears sprouted from her eyes. '_I haven't even found love. And I'll never become a great violinist._'

The van came nearer. It was ten metres away from her and would be on her in less than a second. She had no way to escape from it.

'_I had just made a friend,_' she thought. '_He will be crushed when he learns that I died._'

The van was now five metres away and accelerating.

'_I want to live,_' she thought. '_I want to live. Please, let me live. I want a miracle!_'

And her prayer was heard.

As the van was two metres away from her. Jotaro literally appeared in front of her. She was seeing everything in slow motion and still she didn't see Jotaro until he was in front of her. He cocked back a punch at supernatural speed and, under Michiru disbelieving gaze, threw it in the hood of the van.

The effect was instantaneous and shocked Michiru to the core. The front part of the van folded under the impact of Jotaro's punch. Then its rear part was lifted from the ground and continued its trajectory. The van flew over Jotaro's head, spinning all the while. It flew over twenty metres and crashed in the street on its roof, folding it and skidding on it on ten metres. The van then stopped, broken and smoking. The criminals inside it were probably at least stunned, at worse dead. People eyed Jotaro disbelievingly. Jotaro didn't pay attention and turned towards Michiru, going on his knees and taking her head between his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"I'm alive," she muttered wonderingly. She then started to shake as her eyes unfocused. She was going into shock.

"Yare yare daze," muttered Jotaro. He noticed that the police was coming. He didn't want to deal with them. Let the onlookers tell them what had happened. "Let's get the hell out of Dodge."

He grabbed Michiru's still shaking form and put her in his arms. He then jumped away, disappearing from the onlookers' shocked gaze.

* * *

Since Michiru was unresponsive, Jotaro had searched her bag and found her student card with her address on it. He had then taken her there and had ringed the bell. The only problem was that no one was answering. Michiru had stopped shaking but her eyes were still unfocused and she was unresponsive.

"Yare yare daze," he sighed.

He looked up and noticed an open window. He jumped on its edge, pushed it fully open and went inside. It looked like Michiru's room. Jotaro knew that she was an only child and this room looked like a teenager's room, with posters and all. True, these posters were of famous musicians, but still. Jotaro put Michiru on her bed in sitting position.

"Michiru?" he asked. He didn't get any answer and sighed.

"Shock therapy it is," he said with finality.

He then took a CD from his Doorspace and put it in Michiru's stereo system. The loud-speakers started blaring Rock'n Roll while Jotaro sung in rhythm.

"_Living easy, living free  
Season ticket on a one-way ride  
Asking nothing, leave me be  
Taking everything in my stride  
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme  
Ain't nothing I would rather do  
Going down, party time  
My friends are gonna be there too_

I'm on the highway to hell  
Highway to hell  
I'm on the highway to hell  
Highway to hell

No stop signs, speed limit  
Nobody's gonna slow me down  
Like a wheel, gonna spin it  
Nobody's gonna mess me round  
Hey Satan, paid my dues  
Playing in a rocking band  
Hey Momma, look at me  
I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell  
Highway to hell  
I'm on the highway to hell  
(Don't stop me)

And I'm going down  
All the way down  
I'm on the highway to hell"

It indeed woke up Michiru. She twitched before looking to Jotaro. Jotaro cut the music and eyed her calmly.

"Better now?" he asked.

"I... I think so," stammered Michiru. "What happened? The last thing I remembered was seeing you punch the van and make it fly. The next thing I know I'm in my room."

"Well, you went into shock," explained Jotaro. "So I took you away, found your address on your student card and brought you here through the window since no one was answering. Since you were still out of it, I used an AC/DC CD I had to shock you back to the realm of the living." He took back the CD and put it away in his Doorspace.

"Oh, that's right," she said weakly. "I nearly died..."

She started to shake once again. Jotaro noticed this and gave her a flask.

"Drink two gulps of this," he commanded. "And try not to spit it."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Whiskey," replied Jotaro. "I know you don't drink either, but in this case it should help you."

Michiru nodded and took one gulp. The liquor was so strong that she almost spit it. She forced herself to swallow it and was rewarded by a pleasantly warm sensation in her belly. The second gulp went in way easier. She almost took a third one but Jotaro took the flask back.

"It's enough for you," he said while putting the bottle back... somewhere. "If you drink more you'll become drunk. And believe me, the resulting hangover isn't something funny."

Michiru nodded, having finally stopped shaking. She then gathered her memories and noticed that she had forgotten something rather important.

"I never thanked you for saving my life," she said softly. "Thank you. Thank you so much..."

She couldn't say anything more as she started to cry in relief. Jotaro wordlessly sat beside her and took her in his arms, stroking her back gently. Michiru cried for a few minutes before calming down. She got away from Jotaro's arms and eyed him intently.

"What's the matter?" asked Jotaro.

"I'm not drunk, am I?" she asked softly.

"You didn't drink enough to be drunk," answered Jotaro. "Why?"

"Then I don't understand," she said softly. "I am a lesbian, I'm sure of it. No male ever made my heart flutter, only girls and women did that. I don't feel the slightest attraction to men. I'm just not built like that. Then..."

She stopped, totally unsure of herself.

"Then?" probed Jotaro.

"Then why do I feel like kissing you?" she resumed in a small voice.

"Several reasons in fact," replied Jotaro calmly, as if nothing was wrong. "It could just be gratitude for me since I saved you. It could come from the joy of being still alive and your want of expressing it to the closest person, in that case me. It could be that you don't want to lose any opportunity anymore. Or..."

"Or?" asked Michiru.

"Or it could be that you aren't exclusively lesbian like you think you are and that you have fallen for me," said Jotaro softly but firmly.

Michiru eyed him a bit lost, then mulled over this for a few minutes while Jotaro held her gently in his arms.

"It's probably a mixture of all," she eventually said. "I'm most assuredly grateful to you for saving me. But I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't attracted to you. Maybe I've been lying to myself."

"Or maybe you never found any male who was worth it," Jotaro shot back. "Maybe I'm the first one you even considered as a friend."

Michiru sighed.

"It's true," she said. "You're the first male friend I've ever had. I only ever had female friends before. Maybe that's why I want to kiss you. It's the attraction of the novelty."

"I have one question," said Jotaro. "Have you ever kissed anybody before me?"

"No one besides my parents," replied Michiru. "Why?"

"Would you feel more at ease if your first kiss was with a girl?" asked Jotaro.

Michiru fidgeted.

"I think so," she replied. "But I really want to kiss you and it's not as if you are one."

Jotaro smiled enigmatically and grabbed a canteen of water from... somewhere.

"Do you believe in magic?" he asked impishly.

"I saw you punch a car and come out of it unscathed," deadpanned Michiru. "What do you think?"

"Fair enough," admitted Jotaro. "However, that wasn't magic. Just martial arts at its purest. What you're about to see, however, is pure magic."

Jotaro emptied the canteen on his head. Immediately the raven-haired pigtailed boy was replaced by a busty red-haired girl. Michiru's eyes widened like saucers. She eyed Jotaro's breast shamelessly, obviously wondering.

"In case you're wondering," said Jotaro in her soprano voice, "yes, they are real. However, if you want to check for yourself, be my guest."

Michiru's eyes snapped up to Jotaro's face.

"How?" she asked bewildered.

"Jusenkyo curse," explained Jotaro. "Once you fall into one of its springs, you take the form of whatever drowned into it at the contact with cold water. I fell into the Spring of the Drowned Girl. Hot water deactivates the curse. In this form I am one hundred percent female. A gynaecologist told me that I could even become pregnant."

"Doesn't it feel strange to change sex?" asked Michiru.

"I got used to it," replied Jotaro. "After all, I have a unique opportunity. I can try two bodies. So tell me, does this body make your heart flutter?"

Jotaro eyed Michiru with a smoky gaze. Michiru gulped and felt herself blush. She had to admit it, Jotaro was hot in her girl body. This perfect oval face, those pulpy lips, those big eyes, those bountiful breasts, all in one perfect slender curvy body, this made Michiru's heart race and her loins tighten. She licked her lips and approached her face from Jotaro's. Jotaro noticed and closed her eyes with her lips slightly parted, taking a totally submissive pause, which was emphasized by the fact that Jotaro was a good head smaller than Michiru. Michiru closed her lips on Jotaro's and kissed her gently. Her sensory input from her lips became saturated with pleasure. It was as if her whole body's sensitivity had been transferred into said lips and she moaned under the sensation she had often fantasized on. She felt the fire within her turn into a raging inferno and kissed more and more hungrily. When she felt Jotaro's tongue invade her mouth, she didn't hesitate and latched at it for all it was worth and suckled on it. She then snaked her own tongue into Jotaro's mouth and probed everywhere, trying to taste the sweet cavity in its remotest corners, making Jotaro moan in return. She finally let go of Jotaro's mouth and breathed heavily. She noticed that during the make-out session her arms had snaked around Jotaro's petite body and had started to stroke it in all sort of places. Jotaro's trenchcoat was now on the ground, as well as her cap, and her shirt was severely wrinkled and revealed her stomach. Michiru realised that Jotaro's arms were also around her and had taken of her jacket and opened several button of her shirt, revealing her white and pink bra.

"I feel that I should warn you," said Jotaro between breaths. "If we continue like that, I won't be able to stop until I go all the way on you. However, I have a feeling that you wouldn't mind at all. What do you say?"

Michiru thought about it for a grand second before nodding.

"My parents aren't here for a week," she said impishly. Then in a seductive tone that was almost begging: "Make love to me, please."

If Jotaro even had reservations had that point, they would have crumbled under such an assault of sexiness.

"Your wish is my command, my lady," she said huskily before capturing Michiru's lips once again.

***Yuri Lemon Start***

Jotaro's lips renewed their assault on Michiru's while she pressed her bosom on hers and rubbed it lightly. The sensation put Michiru's breasts on fire. They seemed to have gained volume and felt constricted in the prison that was her bra. She wanted out of it and badly.

Jotaro seemed to have heard her trail of thought since she started to unbutton her shirt once again. But she was going irritatingly slow, making Michiru moan in frustration. While one hand was unbuttoning her shirt, the other was covering her panties-clad buttocks and massaging them gently but yet firmly, eliciting other pleasurable sensations and making Michiru moan more. Michiru was rubbing Jotaro's covered breasts over the fabric of her shirt, kneading them gently and teasing her erect nipples while Jotaro was undressing her. Jotaro finally unbuttoned the last button and took Michiru's shirt off agonizingly slowly, interrupting Michiru's ministrations. The shirt was taken off, revealing a pink and white frilly bra in its entirety. Jotaro grabbed the clasp and unfastened it with an ease that denoted training. The bra fell, revealing Michiru's shapely breasts. She was a C-cup, rather impressive for her age, especially since she still had some growing up to do. Michiru immediately covered them with her hands and blushed some more. She knew that it was stupid given what she intended to do but she couldn't help it. It was the first time she had bared her developing breasts for anyone to see. She couldn't help but be a little ashamed.

Jotaro however, had anticipated her shyness. She just smiled at Michiru and kissed her gently on the lips once again. Michiru melted in this kiss and her apprehension crumbled. She uncovered her breasts and started to fondle Jotaro's once again. Jotaro caught one of her hands and brought it to the upper attach of her shirt. Michiru understood and unclosed it. She did the same thing for all of the attaches and took Jotaro's shirt off her shoulders. Jotaro didn't resist and didn't cover her breasts. Once the shirt was off and cast negligently on the ground, Michiru released Jotaro's lips and took an eyeful of her breasts. They were really perfect, being an E-cup that seemed all the more bigger on Jotaro's petite body and making it look curvier. Her pert nipples were taunting Michiru who was eyeing the breasts with wanton lust but didn't dare to do anything. Jotaro caught on this and grabbed her head gently, bringing it slowly on her bosom until Michiru's mouth touched the flesh of her left breast.

"Go on," she whispered huskily and gently into Michiru's ear. "Nothing is forbidden to you, no matter how degrading you think it is. Mark this breast as your property, you know you want it."

Jotaro's voice had become more begging at the end and Michiru noticed that she wanted this, she wanted to debase herself for Michiru and become her thing. She made her peace with her guilty wants and opened her mouth slightly on Jotaro's breast while her left hand went to knead the other and her right hand went on Jotaro's bottom. Her hands started to knead Jotaro's flesh roughly while her mouth trailed on Jotaro's breast, making her moan in pleasure. She then sucked. Hard.

Jotaro let out a gasp of pleasure and her nipples hardened. Michiru felt it and sucked harder, bruising the flesh in her mouth. She also took both of Jotaro's hardened nipples in her hands and twisted them, making Jotaro's gasps turn into a light scream of pleasure. Michiru smiled satisfyingly. The feeling of power on someone so powerful in her own right was intoxicating to her. Knowing that she was the one to bring such pleasure to Jotaro made her heart beat madly. She released the now bruised breast from her mouth and licked it gently while still twisting the nipples. She then took a nipple in her mouth and suckled on it, eliciting ragged breaths from Jotaro. These noises excited Michiru and she sucked hard on the nipple, biting it lightly as she fondled Jotaro's breasts roughly.

Jotaro screamed loudly as a rush of pleasure coursed throughout her whole body. She felt her nether regions gush liquid. She had come just from her breasts. It had never happened to her before and she could scarcely believe it.

"Are you all right?" asked Michiru concerned. "I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"

"What gave you such a funny idea?" countered Jotaro. "I screamed because I reached a peak of pleasure unexpectedly. I came from breast play and it never happened to me before. I was surprised. You're unnaturally good for a virgin."

Michiru blushed under the praise.

"I just did what felt natural, what I would want to be done to me," she explained still blushing.

"So you would like to be ravished while not being able to stop your partner?" asked Jotaro pointedly. "You would like being dominated?"

"I think so," replied Michiru in a small voice while her blush reached nuclear levels, reaching her bosom.

Jotaro reacted with lightning speed. She grabbed both of Michiru's hands and brought them up her head while kissing Michiru roughly, smashing her breasts against hers and pressing them together. She then pushed Michiru on her back with her whole body while the aquamarine-haired girl moaned in the kiss, all the while maintaining her hands above her head and bringing them to the bed's frame. Michiru was extremely aroused by the rough kiss and by the submissive position she was in. She had her eyes closed under the pleasurable sensations. She felt something furry encircling her hands and heard a click. She felt Jotaro's hands release the pressure on hers but still couldn't move them. Jotaro's lips released hers and she opened her eyes. She lifted her eyes and noticed that she was attached to the bed's frame by furry handcuffs. She lowered her eyes and looked at Jotaro who was straddling her and looking at her with a hungry predatory gaze. She was totally at Jotaro's mercy. The though made her more aroused than before and her nipples hardened even more. She constituted an enticing view, handcuffed as she was on her bed, her face flushed, her breasts bare and only a short skirt covering her modesty. Jotaro lowered her form on the lying girl and brought her mouth near her ear.

"You're at my mercy," she said huskily. Her tongue snaked and licked Michiru's ear, making the girl moan. "You're my toy to play with, now." The tongue snaked once again. "And you like it, you dirty girl. I'm going to make you writhe in pleasure until you beg me to stop." The tongue traced the edge of Michiru' ear. "And then I won't stop, and I'll make you reach new heights of pleasure. You're my property now."

Jotaro then bit Michiru's ear, drawing blood and making the girl scream lightly in a mixture of pain and pleasure. She then suckled lightly on the place where she had bitten until it didn't bleed anymore and only a red bite mark remained. She then kissed and licked her way down to her collarbone, leaving a sucking mark on Michiru's neck. The turquoise-haired girl was panting in pleasure right now, and Jotaro hadn't even reached any really sensitive place. She wondered how she would fare when Jotaro became really serious. Jotaro bit her left collarbone lightly, not drawing blood but letting a bite mark and sucked hard on the other, leaving a sucking mark there. She then kissed her way to her armpit, licking it and making Michiru giggle under the tickling feeling. She then left this zone and licked her way to the really interesting place, finally bringing her hands into play.

Jotaro cupped Michiru's breasts while she was leaving a biting mark on the upper part of her right breast. She fondled them with wanton abandon while her mouth trailed over Michiru's breasts, leaving several sucking marks but carefully avoiding the nipples and their areola. Michiru was moaning loudly at that point and felt the pleasure build inside her. Jotaro felt it and acted. She took a whole nipple in her mouth, with its whole areola, and sucked hard. Michiru screamed as the pleasure exploded inside her body and she came. Juices were coursing out of her sex and drool was trailing of her mouth. Jotaro bit the whole area and pinched her other nipple and she came once more. She panted heavily after the assault of pleasure she had sustained. Jotaro released her nipple from her mouth and licked it gently, bringing other pleasurable sensations to Michiru, before taking it once again in her mouth and sucking on it gently. Michiru wondered if feeling more pleasure was ever possible after what she had experienced. Suddenly, Jotaro's hand lifted her skirt before cupping her sex and she gasped.

It seemed that it was possible after all.

Jotaro gently stroked her virginal flower through her panties, making her writhe in pleasure and wanton abandon. Michiru loved the new feeling. She had masturbated that way before but it was something else altogether to have someone else do it. She pushed her hips into Jotaro's hands as juices seeped through her feminine opening and soaked her panties. Jotaro released her breasts and started to trail kisses down her belly, still living sucking marks. She liked Michiru's bellybutton, eliciting giggles, before continuing lower, all the while stroking Michiru's flower. Once she reached the skirt, she negligently took it off so fast that Michiru wondered how she had done it. She then reached the hem of the frilly pink and white panties and took it between her teeth. She took the panties of Michiru by dragging them down her legs with her teeth. She finally took them entirely off and spit them on the ground before focusing on the present that was before her. Michiru had spread her legs, revealing a patch of aquamarine hairs that circled a pink crevice from where clear juices were seeping. Michiru became more flushed and aroused than before when she noticed how exposed she was. Nobody had ever seen her like this, so vulnerable in such a revealing position. She really felt like Jotaro's thing and it excited her.

"Beautiful," said Jotaro huskily. It made Michiru extremely self-conscious and she tried to close her legs but was stopped by Jotaro. "I don't remember allowing you to close your legs. I'm seeing your beautiful core and I want to see more of it."

"But... It's dirty," she said shamefully.

"Lovemaking is always dirty when done correctly," countered Jotaro. "And I don't see the dirtiness, just a wonderful present for me to open. Trust me and relax. You'll soon forget all about your apprehensions."

Michiru saw the confidence and love into Jotaro's gaze and she decided to trust her. She relaxed and spread her legs more, giving Jotaro open access to her most precious place. Jotaro put her head between Michiru's legs at an annoyingly slow pace. She brought her hand on Michiru's turquoise pubic hairs and ruffled them gently as if they were feathers, making Michiru sigh in pleasure and anticipation. She then blew air on Michiru's petals, making her shiver. Liking the aquamarine-haired girl's reaction she took a single lick, trailing her tongue on Michiru's outer lips from bottom to top and uncovering her clitoris. Michiru panted. Jotaro then gave a lick on Michiru's clitoris. The bound girl gasped.

Jotaro then parted her outer lips with her hands, revealing her reddish-pink inner lips. She put her tongue on them, licking them gently while she stroked Michiru's clitoris with her finger. Michiru was moaning wantonly by now. Jotaro then parted Michiru's inner petal with her tongue and snaked said appendix in the tight little hole they had revealed.

Michiru cried in pleasure. The sensation was divine. Jotaro's hot tongue was tasting the tight inner walls of her virginal vagina and making them produce more juices. Michiru was writhing on the bed, especially since Jotaro was still stroking her fully erect clitoris. The pleasure built inside her until it exploded, making her scream with abandon. Her inner walls tightened around Jotaro's tongue while her vagina released more juices. Her whole body underwent a spasm before relaxing while she breathed loudly after her orgasm. She felt the tongue leave her vagina and the finger stop stroking her clitoris and sighed in disappointment.

However, Jotaro wasn't finished.

Without warning, she introduced a finger into Michiru's now slightly gaping vagina and stroked there lovingly, making Michiru moan in surprised pleasure. Her tongue rolled around Michiru's clitoris and started to lick it with abandon, accentuating Michiru's moan. Jotaro continued her work on Michiru for a few minutes, making her come lightly twice. The pleasure that eventually built inside of Michiru was now tremendous and she warned Jotaro about it.

In response, Jotaro put another digit into Michiru's flower and stroked at her G-spot, making her cry in pleasure. Her free hand snaked under Michiru's butt and started to tease her anus. Michiru's pleasure built to terrifying levels and she started to scream. Jotaro did three things simultaneously. She put a third finger into Michiru's vagina, put a finger in her anus and sucked hard on her clitoris.

Michiru howled roughly in pleasure as the dam broke and she was taken over by a tidal wave of pleasure. Juices gushed out of her feminine cavity, soaking Jotaro's hand. Her vagina tightened incredibly around Jotaro's fingers, as did her anus on the single digit it was now sucking in. Her legs tightened around Jotaro's head so hard that it would have rendered her unconscious had she been of a lesser calibre. Her whole body convulsed for several dozens of seconds before relaxing. She stopped howling and panted heavily.

Jotaro released her clitoris from her mouth and took her fingers out of the turquoise-haired girl's orifices. She sent a smoky gaze at Michiru and sucked all of her fingers languidly, event the one that had been into Michiru's rear opening. She then lay besides Michiru and unlocked the handcuffs, liberating her arms. Michiru's arms snaked lazily around her and she kissed her amorously, tasting her juices on Jotaro's lips.

"Happy?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

"I don't think so," replied Michiru tiredly. "I've been happy before. What I just experienced is way beyond that."

"It isn't finished," warned Jotaro. "You've yet to pleasure me. Or we can do it mutually. Do you know of a position called Sixty-Nine?"

"No," replied Michiru. "Show me, please."

Jotaro nodded and discarded her pants and boxers. The boxers were noticeably stained with juice, Jotaro having taken great pleasure in pleasuring Michiru. It revealed a neatly trimmed patch of pubic hairs that showed that she was a natural redhead. Jotaro then climbed other Michiru, put her head over her groin and put her own groin over Michiru's head, her legs on both sides of her head.

"I think I understand the name," stated Michiru.

"It's self-explanatory," replied Jotaro.

Suddenly, Michiru grabbed Jotaro's legs and turned the redhead over. Jotaro could have resisted but in all honesty why would she? She went with the flow and found herself looking up at Michiru's pussy.

"Nice view," she commented.

"I should hope so," replied Michiru. "Since I'm the one giving pleasure, I felt that I should be the one above."

"As you wish princess," answered Jotaro. "Let the feast begin."

And she started to lap gently at Michiru's still erect clitoris. Michiru sighed and decided to get back at her. She uncovered Jotaro's clitoris gently and licked it slowly. She then parted Jotaro's vaginal lips with one hand and put two fingers into Jotaro's orifice and started to probe around.

"Right here," moaned Jotaro wantonly into Michiru's flower.

Michiru understood that she had found Jotaro's G-spot and focused on the zone, massaging it with her fingers. Jotaro moaned loudly. Michiru smiled and started to suck on her clitoris, making Jotaro's moan redouble. Michiru then had an idea and searched between Jotaro's ass cheeks until she found a puckered hole. She sucked one finger and put it into Jotaro's anus. Jotaro gasped loudly. Michiru started to pump the lone digit in and out of Jotaro's rear hole.

"More," she moaned.

Michiru didn't know if Jotaro wanted more thrusts or more fingers. In doubt, she put a second finger and was thanked by Jotaro's moans of pleasure. She accelerated her pumping rate and put a third finger into Jotaro's vagina. Jotaro had not lost her time and had put fingers into Michiru's pussy and ass and was pumping them without restraint, making Michiru moan into the clitoris she was sucking. Michiru pumped her fingers harder and faster. Pleasure started to build into Jotaro and Michiru. It built higher and higher until it was released in both girls. They howled as they were swept away by a massive mutual orgasm. Michiru collapsed on top of Jotaro and took her fingers out of her orifices as soon as they released their grip. Jotaro did the same. She then wiggled from under Michiru, turned around and laid beside her. She then took her in her arms and kissed her gently.

***Yuri Lemon End***

"You're really good for a novice teenage lesbian," stated Jotaro. "You probably have a strong empathic sense that allows you to sense what pleases your partner the most. You'll make someone very lucky by being their partner one day. Maybe me. Who knows?"

"Why wouldn't it be you?" asked Michiru.

"As sexually compatible as we are," answered Jotaro, "we are both rather young, you more so than me. Besides, I don't think we expect the same things from a lover. I want mine to be able to be at my side even at the hardest times, when lives are at stakes. I tried to distant myself from a former love to protect her and it didn't work. She was killed among many other people. I want my mate to be able to survive at my side."

Michiru was silent at that proclamation.

"I probably wouldn't be the one then," she finally said. "I don't exactly relish a dangerous lifestyle. And I probably wouldn't be able to survive with you. I'm not strong like you."

"If that was all, I would make you strong," replied Jotaro. "But you'd have to renounce to your dream of fame and learn to live in the shadows. I won't force you to do that. I'd rather keep you as a friend than make you unhappy by ruining your dream. Besides, we can remain friends with benefits for as long as we like."

"Friends with benefits?" asked Michiru.

"Friends who occasionally make love," answered Jotaro simply. "We already are since we aren't lover. We can remain so as long as none of us finds a lover."

"But wouldn't the breakup be hard?" asked Michiru.

"Not really," replied Jotaro. "I had such a friend before you, a cute blond guy. When he found a girlfriend, I was happy for him. And we're still friends. Love is never the end of friendship and should never be."

"I think I would like that," said Michiru while snuggling into Jotaro. They remained like that for a few minutes. "Jotaro?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"Would you mind if I asked you to show me what it feels like to make love with a man?" asked Michiru timidly.

Jotaro kissed her on the forehead.

"You shouldn't feel ashamed of asking that," she said gently. "It's something I'm perfectly willing to do for you. But you have to be absolutely sure of yourself before doing that. Making love to a man is vastly different from making love to a woman. But you knew that."

"I knew that," confirmed Michiru. "And I fell that I should be doing it now. I want to know what it feels like and I'm pretty sure I'll never feel readier than now."

***Straight Lemon Start***

Jotaro nodded and took a canteen of hot water that she emptied on herself. Immediately her busty form was replaced by a muscular raven haired boy who was as tall as Michiru. Michiru noticed that he was rather well hung even though it was flaccid for now. She liked her lips in apprehension. Jotaro caught on this and lied down on the bed. Faster than Michiru could see, he took the handcuffs and attached his wrists to the frame of the bed. Michiru eyed him inquisitively.

"It's your first time," said Jotaro simply. "You decide what to do. I won't detach myself unless we are in the heat of the action. You set the pace."

"But I know you can get out of the handcuffs easily," pointed out Michiru.

"True, but it is a symbol," replied Jotaro. "And you believe me to stick to my word. Don't you?"

Michiru wordlessly nodded. She had indeed felt less nervous when Jotaro had cuffed himself to the bed and made it look like she was the one in control. It was only make-believe since Michiru didn't know where to start.

"I don't know what I should do," she revealed shyly to Jotaro.

"Don't worry, I will guide you," he replied. "Kissing is a nice way to start."

Michiru nodded and brought her head near him. She stopped just in front of him, pressed her bosom on his torso, eliciting pleasant sensations, and cupped his face lovingly in her hands. She then closed her lips gently on his. This was extremely pleasurable. Before meeting Jotaro, Michiru would never have thought that she would have enjoyed kissing a male. Right now she was definitely enjoying herself. Her tongue snaked in Jotaro's mouth and started to probe everywhere, taking in the differences with his female form. Jotaro responded in kind, gently but firmly inserting his tongue inside Michiru's mouth. They kissed hungrily for a few minutes while Michiru was rubbing her breasts on Jotaro's torso, eliciting extremely pleasant sensations. Jotaro couldn't resist long and soon his member was fully erect and poking on Michiru's hip.

Michiru felt something poking her and interrupted her kiss regretfully to see what had poked her. Her eyes widened as she saw Jotaro's shaft. There was no way such a voluminous organ could fit into her.

"It won't fit," she said hesitantly to Jotaro. Jotaro just laughed.

"You would be surprised," he said gaily. "I believed that when I made love to a man for the first time in my girl form and he managed to bury himself inside me to the hilt. And he was as big as I am. But it's for later. For now you have to get acquainted with it. Take it in your hand."

Michiru obeyed and took Jotaro's cock in her hand. It was so big that she couldn't close it around the girth. She put her other hand on it above the first and noticed that she couldn't hold its entire length. She was impressed. But she trusted Jotaro.

"Now hold it firmly and jerk your hands up and down the length," he instructed. "This is called a handjob."

Michiru did as she was told and was rewarded by grunts of pleasure from Jotaro. She noticed a clear liquid coming from the tip of the manhood.

"Pre-come," said Jotaro as he noticed her gaze. "You can use a hand to massage the testicles. Just do it extremely gently."

Michiru nodded and used her left hand to cup Jotaro's balls and massaged them gently. Jotaro moaned in pleasure. Michiru smiled. She was starting to appreciate this. An idea came to her after three minutes of handjob.

"Jotaro?" she asked unsure. "Can I take it in my mouth?" Jotaro smiled.

"I didn't think you would want to so soon," he answered. "Lick it, suck on it, massage it with your lips, use your imagination. Just don't bite too hard on it, it's sensitive. And put yourself in the Sixty-Nine position so I can pleasure you all the while."

Michiru smiled radiantly and put herself over Jotaro, lowering her flower on Jotaro's head, which he hastily devoured. Michiru sighed in pleasure and eyed the organ she had yet to release from her hands. She lowered herself, putting her breasts on Jotaro's belly, which he felt with delight, and took a lick of the shaft in her hands. Jotaro immediately grunted in her flower in response and worked faster on her vagina. Michiru took it as an encouragement and licked the member several times from bottom to top, like and ice-cream, before engulfing it in her mouth.

Jotaro let out a gasp of pleasure before renewing his assault on Michiru's womanhood. Michiru bobbed her head up and down, doing the same thing with her lips as she had done with her hands previously. She took it as far as she could but couldn't reach the hilt of the cock and didn't want to choke on it just out of pride. Jotaro didn't seem to mind if his grunts of pleasure were of any indication. Michiru continued to stroke the manhood with her hands all the while.

The ministrations continued like that for a dozen of minutes. Pleasure was building inside both of the partners. Jotaro felt he should warn Michiru beforehand.

"Michiru, you'd better stop," he panted. Michiru stopped, lifted herself and eyed him from between their bodies.

"Why?" she asked. "Does it hurt?"

"On the contrary," answered Jotaro. "I'm on the verge of coming. If I ejaculate in your mouth, you'll experience the taste of male semen and I'm not sure you'd like that."

Michiru eye him for a few seconds before grinning impishly.

"I came too far to just stop before the end," she said simply and started to suck on Jotaro's penis. Jotaro decided to respond in kind and lapped her with all his might. Jotaro came first when Michiru sucked extremely hard on the tip of his manhood and filled her mouth with semen. He grunted loudly in pleasure and bit Michiru's clitoris lightly, making her come in return. Her vagina sprayed juices all over Jotaro's face. Jotaro licked what he could on his face before licking Michiru's flower a few times.

Michiru was a bit startled by the taste of the substance in her mouth but it wasn't as bad as Jotaro had announced, only a bit bitter. She made it swirl in her mouth a few times before she got off of Jotaro and faced him. She showed him what she had in her mouth and closed it before gulping the semen loudly. She then opened a now empty mouth, revealing to Jotaro that she had indeed swallowed. This, Jotaro hadn't taught her, but it made her look incredibly sexy.

"Kiss me," he said simply but firmly. Michiru complied and they spent the next minute tasting each other's juices in their mouths. Jotaro finally released her mouth and eyed her intently.

"Ready for the main course?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," answered Michiru, although her nervousness was coming back.

"I won't lie to you," explained Jotaro. "The first penetration will most likely be painful. You can either go really slowly to attenuate the pain or in one shot to get it done quickly. Don't forget to breathe when you go down on it to relax your muscles."

Michiru nodded, not trusting her voice, and straddled Jotaro, putting herself on her knees just above his erect member. She took it with a hand, brought the tip to the entrance of her vagina, took a deep breath and lowered herself fully on it as she breathed out, burying Jotaro's manhood to the hilt.

Immediately, tears came to her eyes and she gasped in pain. It wasn't that painful but under the circumstances and given how nervous she was, tears came easily to her. Jotaro eyed her concerned. He hadn't had this pesky virginity problem but knew it could be traumatizing.

"It will be okay," he said gently. "Just don't move and it will pass."

"It still hurts," cried Michiru softly. "Please hold me."

Jotaro didn't need to be told twice and (with the help of a Time Stop) unlocked the handcuffs at an incredible speed and engulfed Michiru in his arms. He stroked her back gently with his hands, using shiatsu points that he knew would help her relax, and kissed her face gently. Michiru literally melted in his arms and soon didn't feel any pain. She opened her eyes and looked at Jotaro lovingly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what came over me. It's not that painful, but..."

"Don't apologize," interrupted Jotaro. "The first penetration is a traumatism in its own right. I cried and I didn't have a hymen anymore, so I didn't feel any pain. You have nothing to apologize for."

Michiru smiled lovingly and kissed Jotaro.

"Thank you so much," she said. "I think I'm ready to move."

"Do you want me to help you or do you want to keep setting the pace?" asked Jotaro.

"I kind of want to set the pace myself," answered Michiru. "Just hold me tight, please."

"I can do that," replied Jotaro. "You might feel some slight pain or discomfort. Just concentrate on the feeling of pleasure and it should build up, eclipsing the others. I'll help you with that."

Michiru nodded and started to bring herself up and down on Jotaro's shaft. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. She felt a little discomfort at the beginning, but she heeded Jotaro's advice and soon she didn't feel it anymore, engulfed as she was in pleasure. Jotaro was helping her with that by fondling her breasts, buttocks and stroking her clitoris from time to time. Soon she was bouncing up and down on Jotaro, screaming in pleasure. She felt the pleasure build within her once again and buried Jotaro's cock into her vagina to the hilt, howling as she felt a powerful orgasm. She collapsed on Jotaro's vertical frame, putting her arms around his shoulder and breathing heavily, his still rock hard penis still buried into her clenching vagina. She eyed him lovingly.

"I'm sorry," she said tiredly. "I'd really want to make you come with me but I can't move my legs anymore. You'll have to move by yourself. Indulge yourself."

"Fine by me," replied Jotaro. He noticed some uncertainty in Michiru's eyes. "You want something." Michiru blushed.

"I know it's dirty," she said hesitantly, "but could you..."

"Sodomize you?" finished Jotaro while stroking her rear opening. "My dear, you just had to ask."

In a casual display of strength, Jotaro lifted Michiru of his rock hard penis by holding her by her buttocks, her sex making a wet sucking sound as it released his shaft. He then positioned her anus on the tip of his manhood and buried it to the hilt in the tight opening in one go. Michiru gaped, feeling extremely full and finding the new sensation rather pleasant. The shiatsu points Jotaro had pressed were still active and she thus didn't feel any pain, only bothered by pleasure. She felt pleasure built from within her ass as Jotaro brought her up and down it with his hands, displaying more of his strength. Michiru felt a different kind of pleasure build up and was soon screaming. In a last stroke, Jotaro buried himself completely in her rear and ejaculated. The feeling caused by hot semen in her intestines was too much for Michiru and she howled as she came one last time, spraying juices over Jotaro's pelvis.

Michiru collapsed boneless on Jotaro as she gulped air greedily. Jotaro lifted her off of him and some semen escaped her now gaping anus, falling on Jotaro's pelvis. Jotaro collapsed on the bed taking Michiru with him. She snuggled on top of him and fell asleep with a wide smile. Only pleasant dreams would go through her head this night.

***Straight Lemon End***

Jotaro took his phone from his Doorspace and called Mikoto.

"Mikoto? It's Jotaro," he said. "I just called to tell you that I probably won't be at home until tomorrow night or even Monday. Good night."

And with that, he snuggled in Michiru and fell into a peaceful slumber. Michiru might not be the love of his life but he figured that he would have a great time figuring if that was the case. He was content around her, content in ways only Motoki and his former wife had made him feel. He fell asleep, arms locked tightly around Michiru.

* * *

Michiru awoke to the very pleasant sensation of being locked into somebody's arms. It was something she could learn to appreciate. She snuggled more into Jotaro and noticed that he was awake and eyeing her lovingly with a smile, which would have freaked most of his former friends. Jotaro smirked, he never smiled. Only Jean-Pierre Polnareff, Koichi Hirose, his former wife and Motoki Furuhata had ever seen an honest to God smile on his lips. His daughter had seen it too but was too young to remember. It was refreshing for him to do so. Michiru might not become his lover but she already was special in his heart.

"Morning," he said to her while stroking her hair.

"Have you been awake for long?" she asked gently.

"A few hours," he answered. "I only need three hours of sleep every night. I spent the rest of my time watching you sleep."

"You spent five hours just watching me?" asked Michiru in disbelief.

"What can I say?" replied Jotaro. "You're devilishly cute when you sleep, you should know that. I also used the time to replay the whole story of my life."

"The story of your life? Is it that extensive?" asked Michiru curious.

"Let's say for now that there's a reason I said I was sixteen going on forty one," eluded Jotaro. "My life is of the bizarre kind."

"You'll tell me when we eat," ordered Michiru. "For now, let's get out of bed, as much as I'd want to spend my day there."

"Would you mind wearing this?" asked Jotaro with an impish smile and he took a see-through frilly red negligee that hid absolutely nothing from... somewhere. Michiru's eyes boggled.

"Where did you get that from?" she asked bewildered, both at the origin of the negligee and at how sexy it would look on her.

"If you wear it long enough, I'll tell you," answered Jotaro impishly.

"And what will you wear?" asked Michiru pointedly.

"I feel naked without my cap and trenchcoat, so I'll wear them," replied Jotaro.

"And?" pressed Michiru.

"And nothing else," said Jotaro with finality. "I don't need anything else. And I think I should precise that I nearly always wear my trenchcoat open."

Michiru smiled at the prospect. She held the negligee in front of her eyes and admired it for a minute.

"Why not?" she eventually said. "My parents aren't here, so there's no one to protest. Let's take a shower first, though. I still feel sticky in some places."

Jotaro agreed and they went to the bathroom. Jotaro hadn't really paid much attention to it but the bathroom was enormous, like the rest of the house in fact. Michiru's parents were obviously rich. But they didn't flaunt it ostensibly, neither did Michiru. Jotaro appreciated that, since people conscious of their wealth were more often than not conceited. Michiru wasn't like that and it pleased him. He soon forgot about her wealth as the shower and the bath soon degenerated into a mutual washing session, then a heavy make-out session before leading way to lovemaking, again.

They exited the bathroom one hour after entering it, Michiru in the skimpy negligee that indeed didn't hide anything and Jotaro with his cap and open trenchcoat and nothing else. They prepared breakfast together and took it to eat in the living-room. Jotaro put the tray of food on the table, plopped himself comfortably on the couch and put Michiru between his legs and her back to his torso, one hand stroking her belly and his head on her shoulder. Michiru snuggled closer to him, comfortable in this intimate position, something she wouldn't have believed only a day ago.

"Will you tell me where you hid this negligee?" she asked lazily.

"Yes, but not right now," he answered. "It comes much later in the story I'm about to tell you, a story that started the last century only to finish in the next one. It all started in 1880 when George Joestar the first adopted a young boy called Diego 'Dio' Brando..."

Over the next hours, Jotaro told a captivated Michiru the entire story of his doomed family. He told her how Jonathan Joestar had had to master Hamon to defeat the vampire Dio, only to die tragically in the end. He told her how his grandfather Joseph, Jonathan's grandson, fought the Pillar Men with Hamon and defeated the Ultimate Being. He told her how he himself discovered his Stand and fought Dio Brando in a Homeric battle that finally destroyed the body Dio had stolen from Jonathan Joestar after killing several of his friends. He told her how Joseph's hidden son, Josuke Higashikata, revealed his own town Morioh to be full of Stand Users and how he and his friends chased the elusive serial killer Yoshikage Kira. He told her how Dio's first son, Giorno Giovana, took over the Italian Mafia and ascended to something akin to Godhood by defeating the elusive and ruthless Mafia Boss Diavolo. He finally told her how his own daughter Jolyne had fought the mad priest Enrico Pucci while he himself was bereft of his very soul and how they had all failed to prevent him from resetting the universe. He finally told her how he had finally taken over the body of one Ranma Saotome, martial arts prodigy, and what had happened to him since. He just never told her about his final ability but by the end of the story, Michiru knew more about him than even Motoki. She learned about most Stands and thus learned about the Doorspaces. She had a better understanding of Jotaro's mind than everyone in this world and understood why he was so lonely. There were very few people who could relate to what he had experienced.

"I understand why you said that I probably couldn't become your mate," finally said Michiru gently and understandingly. "You need someone as tough as yourself to survive what happens to you and I don't think I'm the one who will make you happy. I'm not one for lethal combat."

Jotaro nodded. He had suspected as much.

"Can we still be friends?" he asked. Michiru kissed him gently and lovingly.

"With benefits," she said with finality. "You didn't have to ask. Speaking of which, I'm horny right now."

"I can tell," replied Jotaro while eyeing her hardened nipples.

They resumed lovemaking for another hour on the couch. They then spent the rest of the week-end speaking, listening to music (Jotaro initiated her to Rock'n Roll), playing music (Michiru playing the violin naked was a true vision of loveliness according to Jotaro), playing chess and poker (Jotaro taught her how to become a fearsome player in both), learning self-defence (only Michiru, Jotaro didn't need it and he was the teacher) and making love in whatever form Jotaro was at the moment. When Sunday night came, Jotaro slept fitfully, snuggled into Michiru. He left early on Monday morning, promising her to come back on Saturday.

* * *

While she went at school, Michiru was feeling like the queen of the world and was walking like she owned it. She radiated self-confidence and sexiness. The males noticed that and spoke of her among them, more than one sending her a lustful look, some of them were old enough to be her grandfather. It didn't bother Michiru, though. She was proud of herself and flaunted it, it was normal that people took notice of it. The women were whispering behind her back, insanely jealous at her demeanour. Michiru smiled. It felt nice to be envied, even though it limited the amount of people who were willing to know her. It didn't bother much. She had at least one true friend with Jotaro, she didn't feel the need for some hypocritical friendship.

The girls who had bothered her three days before were suddenly before her. Michiru cocked an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?" she asked with a falsely oblivious tone.

The girls eyed her wearily, taking in her change of demeanour, and parted reluctantly. Michiru smiled at them, almost gently, and continued her way to school. There would be many suppositions there as to what had happened to make her so radiant. Strangely enough, only the most perverted guys would be right as to what had occurred.

* * *

A.N: Jotaro's second lover and second Sailor Moon character. I chose Michiru since she is rarely used in crossovers and since her age is close to Ranma's body. I always found it unrealistic when the main character finds the love of his life almost on the spot. It does happen but not as often as fiction makes it appear. You'll notice that Michiru isn't the last of Jotaro's lover. As for the Sailor Moon crossover, it won't happen in this fic. Only cameos will occur. But it gave me some ideas for a possible sequel. Credits for the song go to AC/DC. You might have recognized _Highway To Hell._


	16. Walking In The Air

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

WARNING: Explicitly sexual language. You have been warned. No actual lemon.

XV) Walking In The Air

"The permits have arrived," said Mousse to Jotaro, Akane and Happosai. "We are allowed to open in two weeks."

"Too bad," commented Akane. "We're ready to open now."

Akane had spent the first two weeks of the month-long holiday learning the Bakusai Tenketsu. It had been painful and had horrified her father and sisters but it was totally worth it in her eyes. She was now more durable than ever and could probably overcome the Hentai Horde without defending herself, just waiting for them to tire.

"Well, two weeks is enough for you to learn an interesting technique that would do wonder against the Hentai Horde," revealed Jotaro. "You should learn it too, Mu Tsu, it is too useful to discard. And it will piss off Khu Lon if you know it."

"What do you have in mind, my girl?" asked Happosai curious.

Jotaro was indeed in her female form. She had just come back from Michiru's house where they had spent the night frolicking, since Michiru had to follow her parents for their next journey. Her parents had yet to learn about Jotaro and she didn't want to reveal her so soon. She had a feeling her parents wouldn't exactly approve of her, him, whatever. She coincidentally was away for the rest of the holiday. This was perfect since what Jotaro had in mind would most likely take two weeks.

"You know the technique, old man," answered Jotaro. "It is called the Hiryuu Shoten Ha."

Happosai's jaw dropped. Mousse's did as well. Akane eyed them curiously.

"What is so impressive about this technique?" she asked.

"The Hiryuu Shoten Ha is one of the most powerful Amazon techniques," replied Mousse who had recovered first. "It is purely defensive but the power released in it is staggering. As such, males like me are never taught it. It would indeed enrage Khu Lon if I learned it."

"And what does it do?" asked Akane interested.

"It uses the opponents' strength against them," answered Happosai in teaching mode. "The most powerful the opponents are, the stronger the technique is. It uses the ki released out of their frustration and anger and makes a tornado out of it."

Akane's jaw dropped. An honest to God tornado? And Jotaro wanted her to learn that?

"What I would like to know," interrupted Happosai, "is how they're going to learn it without an Amazon instructor."

"We don't need one," supplied Jotaro helpfully. "I haven't ever done the technique, but I have read the scrolls that describe it and practised all the steps. I'm positive I can do it."

"Well, if you're sure," replied Happosai. "I suppose I will help teach it. When do we start?"

"We pack this afternoon and go to the training place tonight," answered Jotaro. "We start the training tomorrow."

"Well, let's pack then," said Happosai with finality. "Come, Akane. We have much to do."

Akane followed eagerly. She and Mousse were excited, that much was easily seen.

* * *

Jotaro, in his male form, had led the small group to a small clearing in the nearby forest, near a stream. They made camp there. Doctor Tofu had followed them to learn the way and had gone back to his office. He couldn't stay for the whole training as he had his practise to run but he would come every evening to check on everyone's health. After they had made camp, Jotaro led them all in another clearing slightly away from the camp. He then faced them and eyed them intently.

"You're going to attack me together," he said in a tone that booked no discussion. "You all know how tough and skilled I am so you know there's no need for restraint. Don't go overboard too much. If you feel too much anger the technique could be devastating against you. Let's begin."

"You should know that I can counter the first step of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha," warned Happosai.

"Not against me, you don't," smirked Jotaro. "You're welcome to try, though."

Happosai nodded and rushed at Jotaro, soon followed by Mousse and Akane. It rapidly became obvious that none of them managed to touch Jotaro. Happosai's eyes widened in the middle of the attack.

"How do you do that?" he asked while trying to kick Jotaro. "I am trying to avoid the first step and I can't! It shouldn't be possible."

"I'm just that good," boasted Jotaro while evading a punch from Akane. "I can predict an opponent's behaviour and adapt to it. Since I know you better than most, it's somewhat easier to outmanoeuvre you."

Happosai nodded dumbly and followed his assault. He tried to counter the first step but each time he thought he had done so, Jotaro attacked him and he fell back into the pattern the raven-haired boy wanted. Jotaro was really incredible to outsmart him like that. He knew the clash was inevitable.

Mousse was astounded by Jotaro's proficiency. He had fought against him a few times but he hadn't grasped how wide the gap of skill between them was. Jotaro was evading three opponents, including Happosai who was a grandmaster. It spoke highly of Jotaro's skill. Mousse also noticed something odd. Jotaro was leading them subtly into a spiral pattern and they were now near its centre.

Akane marvelled once again at Jotaro's evading skill. It was almost impossible to touch him. Happosai was the only one who managed to do so and Jotaro still blocked him. She noticed that Jotaro was sending an uppercut while twisting his fist. She wondered what he was doing since he wouldn't touch anyone with such a sloppy punch.

And then it happened.

Wind erupted from the ground, coalescing into an upwards spiral. It swept Happosai, Mousse and Akane off of their feet and up in the now building tornado. Had it occurred before her training with Happosai, Akane would have been tumbling into the winds. Now she was having an easier time remaining in a manageable position. She noticed that Mousse didn't have the same ease as her and grabbed him when he went close to her, stabilizing him. Happosai had no problem whatsoever controlling his posture but he knew that if it went on longer, they would pick up speed and be ejected at high speed from the tornado, which would be dangerous for any of them. As he thought that, the tornado dissipated, allowing the three airborne martial artists to land relatively safely. Jotaro was waiting where Mousse and Akane had landed, ready to act if need be. He smirked at them as they regrouped.

"Impressive isn't it?" he said.

Akane and Mousse nodded somewhat dumbly. Happosai did too but feeling retrospective.

"I had my doubts that you could pull it off but it was the Hiryuu Shoten Ha, all right," he said impressed. "I remember it well, it was used several times against me. However, nobody ever managed to lure me into it so efficiently. You display a mastery of it that is astonishing. And the way you stopped it is also impressive. To my knowledge, only Khu Lon can change her focus fast enough to do so."

"Jotaro is awesome like that," commented Akane.

"So what can you tell me about its working from what you experienced?" asked Jotaro, switching to his teaching mode.

"You led us all into a spiral pattern, and you managed to do it even when we actively tried to break the pattern," stated Mousse. "So I'm guessing that the spiral is essential."

"Correct," replied Jotaro. "It's the base of the technique. What else?"

"The strange twisted uppercut you sent in the air before it started is the catalyst of the technique," noted Akane. "Nothing happened before this uppercut. Its strange execution must trigger the tornado, maybe by twisting the air currents around it."

"Also correct," said Jotaro. "The uppercut is the catalyst to the technique. Now, I'm pretty sure you know what the main ingredients to the technique are, Happosai."

"Hot and cold ki," replied the old martial artist. "The hot ki is provided by the attackers and the cold ki is generated by the defender. The mixture of the two, drawn into a spiral then catalysed by a twist made by an uppercut generates a tornado around the user that sweeps off everything, opponents included. Normally, if the user holds the technique long enough, the opponents are ejected from the tornado at such a high speed that it is impossible not to get hurt. That's the terrifying power of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha."

"I couldn't have explained better," said Jotaro. "The Hiryuu Shoten Ha is powered by the opponents hot ki, hot ki that is liberated at each attack unless you know the exact counter, which you will learn. It works better if your opponent is powerful, even better if there are several of them and even better if the opponents are enraged and don't master their emotions. The first part to master is how to draw enemies into a spiral pattern, which can be done easily if they don't know what to expect but is harder if they know about it. It is still doable, as you saw me do against Happosai. The second step to master is how to exude cold ki. The technique is called the Soul Of Ice and is the counter to the whole Hiryuu Shoten Ha. It also allows you to achieve an extreme sense of focus so it has uses out of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha. It can be learned through brutish beat down or through meditation. The last part, the uppercut, is actually the easiest to learn. We will start tomorrow with how to make a correct spiral. However, I want to do something to you with Happosai's help that would help you to learn it but you might refuse."

"If it helps us, why would we refuse it?" asked Mousse pointedly.

"Because the strength stealing moxibuston bereaves you of all your strength, leaving you as weak as a baby," replied Happosai. "It involves a certain trust if you want it as you most assuredly couldn't get the counter moxibuston from me if you were under its influence."

"Why would getting rid of our strength help us learn the Hiryuu Shoten Ha?" asked Akane.

"The effect is psychological," replied Jotaro. "If you are deprived of any strength, you will be more driven into learning the technique. For example, you'll be more inclined to dodge rather than block when trying to perform the spiral pattern, which is more effective. And most importantly, the Hiryuu Shoten Ha was created to be used by people with next to no strength. When you believe yourself useless because you are weak, you'll learn the Hiryuu Shoten Ha quicker and more efficiently. Besides, if your reward for learning it is the recovery of your strength, you'll be even more motivated and won't stop during the frustrating time needed to learn the Soul Of Ice."

"Sound like an interesting concept," said Mousse. "I'm in. What has to be done to receive it?"

"Just lift up your robes so that I have access to your back, boy," replied Happosai. "It will burn for a second and that's all."

Mousse did what was asked of him and barely flinched when Happosai applied his pipe on one of his vertebrae. He then put his robes back.

"I don't feel any different," he said.

"Try to lift this rock," said Jotaro while pointing at a nearby rock that weighted a few kilos at worst.

Mousse nodded and grabbed the rock. And sweated. And sweated more before stopping and catching his breath.

"Impressive," he panted. "I can't lift it."

"The effect is the same on your attacks," added Jotaro, "if you used a sword, provided you could lift it, and unless it was razor-edged, you couldn't cut anyone's skin. They'd have more chances of harming themselves by tripping and falling on it while you held it."

"I understand why you said trust was needed to apply it," said Akane awed.

"Trust isn't needed," replied Happosai. "If you hate somebody, you can apply it to him against his will, if you manage. He then would be defenceless, unless he knew the Hiryuu Shoten Ha."

"Well, my turn then," said Akane with a mixture of eagerness and apprehension in her voice.

She underwent the same treatment as Mousse and tried the same lifting exercise. She then asked Mousse to remain in place and struck him in the face. To his surprise, Mousse barely felt anything. He knew that Akane was strong. This moxibuston was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Its misuse could have catastrophic consequences.

"I feel weak," she finally said while getting her breath back. "Weaker than I've ever be. And I don't like it. I want to learn the technique as soon as possible and get back my strength."

"That's the effect we were looking for," stated Jotaro. "Let's go back to the camp. I'll cook something."

"I'm supposed to be the cook," interrupted Mousse.

"Not without your strength," Jotaro shot back. "You can't even lift the skillet like that. For the duration of the training, I am the cook. You can always teach me some recipes. I am the co-owner of your Chinese restaurant, I should learn some of your Chinese recipes."

Mousse couldn't do anything but nod and the group went back to the camp.

* * *

The next morning, the group was back into the clearing. Jotaro and Happosai traced two spiral patterns on the ground and put chalk onto them.

"These are the patterns you'll have to follow while being attacked," stated Jotaro. "Try them without an opponent first to get a good feeling of the pattern. Then we'll try to do it with us tagging you."

Akane and Mousse tried to perform the spiral pattern several times, until Jotaro was satisfied. Then Happosai attacked Akane, lightly tagging her, while Jotaro attacked Mousse. This training continued until the evening. By the time the night fell, their spirals were almost perfect. They went eating and discussed their progress.

"Tomorrow, we finish the spiral," stated Happosai. "Then we train you how to perform it with distraction. It is to help you perform the second step, the Soul Of Ice."

"What kind of distraction?" asked Akane curious. "Isn't your attacking us distracting enough?"

"There are many more things that can distract you in a battle," explained Jotaro. "We'll try some of them tomorrow."

"And what are you going to try?" asked Mousse a bit cautious. The last time he had let Jotaro surprise him, he had kissed him.

"Now, you wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," said Jotaro with a smirk.

Mousse wasn't exactly reassured. Akane saw the smirk on Happosai's lips and shivered. She probably wouldn't like it. Not at all.

* * *

The next morning, the group spent one hour perfecting the spiral, Happosai still hitting Akane, albeit harder than the day before, and Jotaro hitting Mousse in her female form. When they finished, she looked at Happosai with a sinister smile that he sent back, sending shivers down Mousse's and Akane's spines. Then, in one fluid movement and under Akane's and Mousse's terrified gaze, they took off their clothes.

Happosai was now only clad in a white loincloth, revealing to the world and especially to a horrified Akane his shrivelled and puckered body. Akane couldn't help the grimace that went up her lips. Jotaro was wearing a very skimpy bikini, one whose top barely covered her nipples and whose bottom was a frilly translucent black thong. All in all, it looked more like pieces of string and made Mousse sport a nuclear blush.

"Wha-What are you doing in this getup?" stammered Akane at Happosai. "You look more perverted than usual, and quite repulsive too."

"That, my dear, is a distraction," stated Happosai with a wide smile. "I'm going to attack you like that to train you to manage distractions. Keep in mind that if I manage to touch you, you're going to feel my wrinkled body."

Akane looked horrified at the prospect.

"Be grateful that I toned it down," said Happosai. "Jotaro's first suggestion was that we do it naked, you and me."

Akane thoroughly thanked the heavens that her sensei wasn't as twisted as Jotaro.

Mousse was currently trying to make his blush recede and wasn't managing.

"What's wrong, lover boy?" cooed Jotaro. "I thought you liked Xian Pu?"

"It seemed easier to tell that to me when I didn't have a naked girl posing provocatively in front of me," protested Mousse.

"I know," stated Jotaro. "That's why it's a distraction. But keep in mind that if you can manage it with me, you can manage it with Xian Pu should she resort to such means. Which greatly increases you chances of eventually beating her in a fight."

"Sounds interesting," admitted Mousse.

"Don't rejoice too quickly," warned Jotaro. "I'm going to try to kiss you the most I can."

Mousse took a definitely disturbed gaze, a mixture of anticipation and disgust. Was it disgust at himself for wanting it or at Jotaro for putting him in this position? He wasn't sure himself.

"Don't be so anticipative, either," warned Jotaro again. "I have half a mind to go back to my male form for that. But maybe you'd like it better..."

Mousse looked distinctively horrified at that prospect and called the training to begin. They spent the better part of the next three hours performing spiral patterns while being distracted by disturbing visions, Akane being way more disturbed than Mousse. After the first three hours and given that both Akane and Mousse now managed the spiral despite the distractions, Jotaro and Happosai decided to kick it up a notch.

"Do you have any more videos of your sexcapades, Jotaro dear?" asked Happosai loud enough to be heard. Akane stumbled and was hit. Mousse stopped to check if he had heard correctly.

"No," replied Jotaro. "Besides, Motoki got a girlfriend, which put a stop to our sex sessions. Too bad, I really liked feeling his rock hard dick into my tight little orifice."

This time, Mousse stumbled like Akane and took a hit that distracted him from the spiral. Akane was becoming red at what she heard. She had heard Jotaro's perverted discussions with Happosai before but she wasn't all that used to such perversion. But at least she wasn't apoplectic anymore.

"Which orifice?" asked Happosai. "You have up to three of them where you can put a cock when you're in your girl form."

"All three of them, it depends of the mood," replied Jotaro. "Though I like to feel a shlong up my ass, it makes me feel pleasantly full."

"Too bad for you it stopped," said Happosai.

"It didn't exactly stop, it just changed," Jotaro shot back. "I found a girlfriend soon after, and she's a sex freak. She even likes anal. I can't promise you videos however, I've yet to ask her."

And it continued for several hours, Jotaro and Happosai talking about sexual matters to distract Akane and Mousse. It worked quite well, although they managed to build immunity with time. It was however more difficult to be immune to it when Jotaro and Happosai asked them pointed questions about their sexuality but they managed, somewhat. Mousse had more difficulties than Akane since he wasn't used to such perverted discussions. By the end of the day, both of them were so tired of blushing that they didn't react anymore to the discussions and managed to perform the spiral. They went to eat after such a hard and mind wrecking day.

"Did you have to imply us in your perverted conversations?" protested Akane tiredly.

"Well, you have to admit that now you can perform the spiral in about any circumstances," tempered Happosai. "You can hardly get more flustered and embarrassed than that."

"You have a great imagination to invent all those fantasies, Jotaro," stated Mousse.

"What fantasies?" asked Jotaro oblivious. "I didn't invent anything. Everything I mentioned is nothing but the absolute truth. I really performed these shameless acts with my partners."

Mousse's eyes widened at that revelation. He had believed that it was all fabrication. His mind then overloaded at the discovery and he collapsed due to a massive nosebleed.

"Maybe it was too much for him to know that," said Happosai while Akane eyed Mousse disbelievingly. She had always believed that the nosebleed was a legend. Jotaro sighed.

"I still have work with him," she said tiredly. She then noticed that the presence that had followed them was going away and smirked.

* * *

"What do you have to report, child?" asked Cologne to Shampoo as the later came back.

"Is very strange," stated Shampoo still bewildered. "Happosai was in loincloth training angry girl to dodge and Jotaro was doing the same with stupid Mousse but in bikini while girl. Jotaro and old pervert also saying really perverted things to upset angry girl and Mousse."

Cologne fell of her staff at the revelation. What could they possibly be doing? Had Jotaro been corrupted by Happosai's perversion? She shuddered at the prospect.

* * *

The next day, Mousse and Akane were sitting near the stream, each with a container of water between their legs. Jotaro came in before them.

"The Soul Of Ice is probably the hardest part of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha to master," detailed Jotaro. "The Amazon way of training into it is of the 'Do or Die' kind. They put a restrictive gear around you that block all your movements should you exude hot ki. You have to exude cold ki to unlock it and since you do it inside of a hot spring it is extremely dangerous."

Mousse and Akane looked horrified at the prospect, especially Akane since she didn't know how to swim.

"Fortunately for you," continued Happosai, "Jotaro devised another way for you to learn it. It might take more time but it is safer and gives you a better control on the Soul Of Ice."

"I'll start by giving you the feeling of the technique by performing it on you," said Jotaro before taking their hands and concentrating. His gaze became instantly extremely focused and clear and frost came from out of his mouth while he breathed. Akane and Mousse felt the cold sensation and first wanted nothing more but to get out of it. Then they felt the sense of focus and remained. Soon, they were exuding cold too and the water in the containers between their legs froze. Jotaro stopped the technique and eyed them expectantly.

"So, what do you think about it?" he asked.

"It's impressive," replied Mousse. "I don't remember my mind being that clear, ever."

"And the cold exuding is a strange sensation," added Akane. "I don't remember ever exuding cold. Once you're used to it it's addictive. It could have a lot of uses."

"It's difficult to perform by yourself, though," said Jotaro. "So let's start."

Over the next five days, Akane and Mousse meditated to reach the Soul Of Ice. They managed to do it in two days. Of course, the hardest part was to reach it while distracted. They spent one day learning to do it while doing the spiral, the next day while doing it and being attacked, and the last day being fully distracted. It wasn't easy.

"I have a question in my mind that I'm sure you have too, Akane," said Happosai at one point. "How big is Tofu's cock, and would it fit into your tight little pussy?"

Needless to say, Akane lost her concentration at the time. Mousse wasn't exactly in a better position.

"I wonder how slick Xian Pu's vagina actually is," wondered Jotaro loudly, making Mousse stumble. "Probably enough for your dick to penetrate effortlessly. For that matter, how would her anus feel?"

It was very difficult and embarrassing training for Mousse and Akane but they managed. At the end of the week, they knew how to call on the Soul Of Ice. However, they had yet to learn how to dispel it in an instant and in all circumstances. Jotaro finally deemed them ready to perform the Hiryuu Shoten Ha and taught them the final uppercut, which they actually mastered in a few minutes. Jotaro then put Akane in the clearing and attacked her, letting himself be lead into a spiral while he exuded hot ki and Akane exuded cold ki. When they reached the centre of the spiral, Akane gave a twisting uppercut in the air.

And it happened. Air flew around her and coalesced into a spiral that took Jotaro into the air. Akane panicked as she felt the tornado grow bigger and suck onto her Soul Of Ice. She didn't know how to stop it!

At that moment, the tornado died out and Jotaro landed perfectly on the ground without a scratch.

"Well, you've earned your right to get the strength stealing moxibuston countered," said Jotaro idly. "What do you think, Happosai?"

Happosai nodded and performed the counter moxibuston on a still shell-shocked Akane. Akane yelped in surprise and came back to her senses.

"I did it," she said wonderingly. Jotaro nodded and threw a rock at her. Akane caught it and noticed that she had her strength back. She did a victory dance.

"My turn," said Mousse eagerly.

The process was repeated and Mousse recovered his strength. He also did a victory dance, one with swords he could now carry again.

"I'm making us something to celebrate for dinner," he said.

"By the way, Jotaro," asked Akane. "How did you manage to stop the tornado? I didn't feel that it would be possible."

"That's the extent of his ki manipulation," answered Happosai for him. "Jotaro can immediately dispel the Soul Of Ice, like he did the first time he performed the Hiryuu Shoten Ha, or call it while still exuding hot ki, which is no small feat, and extinguish the tornado since it lacks fuel. It took me several decades to reach this level of mastery, so it's not something you'll be able to do soon. Thus you have to keep in mind that your versions of the Hiryuu Shoten Ha will be impossible to cancel, so don't use them lightly since the people caught into it rarely come out of it unscathed."

"Okay," said Mousse. "We took one week to learn how to perform it. What will we do the rest of the time?"

"We will teach you to master it, that is to say, learn different ways to lure people into a spiral, even though they know about the technique, how to dodge them and redirect them better and how to make the tornado more deadly or less dangerous. Happosai will determine if creating a reverse one is possible."

"A reverse one?" asked Akane.

"Not something you can learn now, especially since I'm not sure whether it works," answered Jotaro. "The idea is to be the one doing a spiral and exuding hot ki and still master to catch someone in it. It should be extremely difficult."

And thus they trained for the rest of the week. Happosai and Jotaro determined that a reverse Hiryuu was impossible to start alone. The reason was that the spiral had to be an outwards one, which implied that the person fuelling it would end up outside of it. Which meant that there had to be someone at the centre to catalyse it. Mousse and Akane improved their mastery of the technique. Tofu was treated to the sight of the technique performed by Akane and was suitably impressed, to the point of congratulating Akane for about ten whole minutes, which made her blush like mad. The others took great pleasure in rubbing it in when the Doctor was gone.

At the end of the week, they went back home. Akane and Happosai did at least. Mousse went to his restaurant to check if everything was ready for the opening. Jotaro went back home to say hello to Mikoto, then went to Juuban. He wanted to see Michiru, maybe Motoki and Reika too.

* * *

When school started again, Akane was walking with Jotaro towards it and was grumbling.

"Stupid Hentai Horde," she muttered.

"You don't have anything to gain from fighting them anymore," stated Jotaro. "Why don't you use your new technique on them?"

Akane stopped and looked at him shocked.

"What? But it is too much for them!" she exclaimed. "I want them out of my hair, not dead!"

"Don't worry, I'll jump in and snuff the tornado out before it catches too much speed," said Jotaro. "A worst there will be a few broken limbs."

"Okay, then," she replied before grinning sadistically. "Hehehehehe, they'll never know what hit them."

Jotaro nodded with a smirk and took her bag before putting it... somewhere.

"You'll have to teach me how to do that," said Akane.

"You can't learn this one," countered Jotaro. "It's a power given to me by a friend that I have lost, sorry." Akane's mood darkened. "However, you can learn Hidden Weapon, which does more or less the same thing. Ask Mu Tsu to teach you, he's been using it for longer than me after all."

Akane brightened and entered into the school, noticing the Hentai Horde coming at her. She immediately jumped in the middle of them and started the spiral pattern.

On the sides, Nabiki was frowning. She still ran bets on her sister's fight and she didn't like what she saw. Akane was surrounded by the Hentai Horde and was going to lose if she didn't fight back. Nabiki frowned more. Was it mist she saw coming out of her sister's mouth? And what was she doing turning like that in concentric circles?

Akane then sent a twisted uppercut in the air, making Nabiki wince. She wouldn't touch anyone with that and she left herself open for attacks. She was going to lose and Nabiki would lose a lot of money...

Was that wind she felt blowing towards the Hentai Horde?

And then it happened. A tornado took place and engulfed the Hentai Horde, making them fly incoherently in the air while they screamed. Nabiki, and everybody else, looked aghast, eyes wider than saucers. Her sister had created a freaking tornado out of thin air!

The Hentai Horde flew for a minute, most of its member unconscious at that point, before Jotaro jumped into the tornado. It died two seconds later, Jotaro having overloaded it with cold ki, and let the Hentai Horde fall in mishap on the ground. Pained cries rose in the air as several of them broke or sprained limbs. However, none of them were seriously hurt. Jotaro landed perfectly and eyed the Horde critically.

"You'd better stop attacking her," he told them. "It's the last time I dispel the tornado. Next time it will keep up until all of you are ejected from it. And mark my words, should that occur, there would be deaths among you then."

Kuno then came and challenged Akane, spouting something about sorcery. Akane eyed Jotaro.

"Don't interrupt it this time," she said. "He can withstand it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Jotaro.

Kuno charged at Akane, who led him into a spiral while exuding cold. Kuno was becoming increasingly frustrated that he couldn't even touch her. Then Akane sent an uppercut in the air while howling "HIRYUU SHOTEN HA!" and Kuno was swept away by an even bigger tornado than the Hentai Horde has sustained. He whirled into it for a few minutes, gaining speed while he was screaming incoherently. He was then ejected, making the tornado die out, and hit the side of the school. He remained embedded in it for a few seconds in it before coming unstuck and falling on the ground, three stories under. The students looked at his bruised and unconscious form for a few seconds before looking back at Akane.

Akane was standing stiff and proud, her eyes hardened and frosty and mist coming from her mouth. She breathed deeply once, making the whole student body shudder, even Nabiki. She knew that even she couldn't achieve this level of frostiness. Akane didn't know it yet but she had just acquired the title of Ice Empress. It was a title that would follow her for years to come and one she didn't actually mind.

* * *

Cologne looked in disbelief at what she was saying. On a prospectus that had been sent all over town, she learned of another Chinese restaurant opening in Nerima. This was bad news in itself since business wasn't that good. She could barely manage competition at that point but that wasn't what was bothering her the most. The restaurant was called the Jusenkyohanten and had a duck and Mousse on its sign. She had to investigate it.

She ran to the location of the Jusenkyohanten with Shampoo in tow. She then posted herself on the street.

"Mousse!" she howled. "Come out immediately you filthy male!"

Someone came out in a Chinese waitress dress. It obviously wasn't Mousse.

"Cologne, what an unpleasant surprise," said Akane. "What can I do for you?"

"What angry girl doing here?" asked Shampoo.

"I work here," replied Akane. "The pay is good and the patrons give tips. Now what can I do for you? I don't have all the time, you know."

"Bring Mousse here, girl," demanded Cologne imperiously.

"I'll try but I can't promise you anything," she said without a care in the world.

She went back in the store, leaving an aghast Cologne. A minute later, Mousse came out with a cook apron on him.

"Elder, what an unpleasant surprise," he said candidly in a false joyful tone.

"What is the meaning of this?" snarled Cologne. "Who gave you the right to open a restaurant?"

"Since when do I need the authorization of a couple of exiles?" snorted Mousse. "You have absolutely no say in the matter, especially since my restaurant, contrary to yours, is in order with Japanese law."

Cologne gritted her teeth. She jumped at him to hit the little upstart. However, to her surprise, Mousse evaded. It shouldn't be possible, he wasn't that good. She continued for a few moments before noticing the cold. It wasn't normal. The last time she had felt that kind of cold was when she had learned the...

Her eyes opened wide as she realised. She saw Mousse send a twisted uppercut. So that was what Happosai and Jotaro had been teaching him.

"NO!" she shouted, angry that a mere male like Mousse knew such a fearsome technique.

It was to no avail. The wind picked up, coalescing into a tornado and sweeping her off of her feet. She was sucked into the tornado. She remembered how to stop it but before she could come into a correct state of mind she was ejected. She embedded herself into a nearby building and fell on the ground, still standing but hurt. She had broken at least two ribs and a leg. Another few days at the hospital that she couldn't afford. She came back to where she was wearily and noticed Shampoo eyeing Mousse with wide eyes.

"Happosai taught you this technique, didn't he?" she asked rhetorically.

"Him and Jotaro," replied Mousse simply.

"What this technique?" asked a bewildered Shampoo.

"The Hiryuu Shoten Ha?" answered Mousse. "Oh, not much. Just one of the most fearsome Amazon techniques. I wonder why you didn't learn it yet, Shampoo."

"She isn't ready," snapped Cologne. "The training is too much for her."

"Then maybe you should revise your training methods because a mere male like me was able to learn it with Jotaro's method. And well, at that. I did catch you into it, after all."

"How you get enough money to start restaurant?" asked Shampoo to change the conversation to topics she was more comfortable with. She was probably weaker than Mousse at that point and didn't like to think about it. Not at all.

"I have a business partner," replied Mousse simply.

"Who?" demanded Cologne. Maybe she could shake him up and get Mousse back and teach him the errors of his way.

"Behind you," he said simply and went back into the restaurant.

Cologne froze at these words. She didn't even pursue Mousse. Only two people could sneak up on her. She turned around and sure enough, Jotaro Kujo was here, eyeing her disdainfully.

"What do you want, old ghoul?" he sneered. "Trying to ruin my business? I could be... upset if that was the case. And believe me, you don't want to see me upset."

Shampoo shivered. She believed him totally. Cologne sighed. Mousse was visibly under Jotaro's protection and she couldn't do anything to him, lest she wanted to incur Jotaro's wrath. Not a pleasant possibility. Sighing once more in defeat, she went away, followed by Shampoo.

Jotaro smirked at that. The patrons of the Jusenkyohanten had assisted to the scene and would spread the rumour, which would boost the restaurant's prestige and discredit the Nekohanten.

"I love it when a plan comes together," he said idly.

"Don't we all," replied Happosai with a smile, coming from the kitchen with an apron. They went back together in the restaurant. Happosai went in the kitchen with Mousse and Jotaro attended to customers with Akane.

* * *

Shampoo was wondering if it was really a good idea. Her great-grandmother had said that it was but she had been extremely irked by Mousse's mastery of her technique and was becoming more irritable day by day. Shampoo was wondering if she was becoming senile. She spotted Jotaro coming out of the Jusenkyohanten with Akane, having finished his work, and ran to him. When he saw her he pierced her with his eyes, making her sweat.

"What do you want, Xian Pu?" he said icily.

It was already becoming a bad idea, Shampoo knew it.

"Shampoo just want to give Jotaro bell, like one Shampoo have, see?" she said while holding two bells.

She put the bigger one into Jotaro's hand and rushed away. Jotaro eyed the bell neutrally before holding it in front of Akane.

"Want it?" he asked. Akane eyed it suspiciously.

"It's not cursed, is it?" she asked cautiously.

"I don't feel anything magical on it but it doesn't mean that there's no curse on it," answered Jotaro truthfully. "It is a risk you'll have to take if you want it."

Akane thought about it for a minute before throwing caution to the wind.

"Why the hell not?" she said before taking it and bringing it back home.

This night, while she was trying to sleep, she heard a strange noise. She turned around and saw two yellow slitted eyes looking at her, the only part of the massive figure hovering in front of it which was at least three metres tall and was holding the bell.

"Be my bride, nyow," it said in a high-pitched voice.

Akane didn't scream. She didn't feel the need to. She just jumped at it and started to pummel it mercilessly. The monster howled in pain, waking up all the other people in the house. Akane opened her window and sent it through it, its bell following it. It made a pained "nyow" when it crashed onto the ground. Happosai was the first in her room, in full battle alert. Akane was impressed. Happosai was fearsome when on alert. She was glad this sharpness wasn't directed at her. Behind him, Soun and Genma were cowering, more scared of Happosai than of what had attacked Akane, she noted with disgust. Her two sisters were eyeing the scene cautiously.

"What happened?" asked Happosai, calmer once he saw nothing dangerous.

"I don't know what but it was three metres tall, had slitted yellow eyes and held the bell I brought back while asking me to be its bride," answered Akane. "I beat it and threw it through the window. It should be under it, given its still pained cries."

Happosai nodded and went out, followed by Akane and her sisters, Soun and Genma trailing behind pathetically. Once they were in the garden they noticed that the monster was in fact a giant cat that was mewling pitifully.

"What do you want?" asked Akane icily. All the others save Happosai remained away. The cat turned to her.

"I'm Maomorin, nyow" said the cat. "My bride is the one with one of these bells." He held the bell in front of him.

"Nice try, but there is another one," said Akane. "Now, why me?"

"Because you're the first I found," said the cat dumbly.

Akane looked at it disbelievingly.

"And if she refuses to be your bride?" asked Happosai cautiously.

"Then I'll have to beat her until she accepts, nyow," replied Maomorin.

"The path of the martial artist is fraught with peril," said Genma sanctimoniously. "It is a martial artist's duty to fight monster, spirits, ghosts and demons. Fight it girl!"

Akane frowned at Genma's cowardice before cracking her knuckles with a sadistic grin.

"Bring it on, cat!" she said confidently.

The cat sweated. It knew it wasn't strong enough to defeat her. It had to possess someone she wouldn't want to hit to prevent her from beating it. It eyed the other humans and noted that only two of them were weak enough for him to possess. It decided to possess the one on the right.

Maomorin turned into its spirit form and entered Genma's body.

"Haha, nyow!" it said from Genma's lips. "You won't dare to hit a guest at your house, nyow."

Everyone eyed it as if it was the dumbest entity present, which it incidentally was. Then Akane's grin widened and she cracked her fists once more.

"Sorry mister Saotome," she said sweetly, "but as you said, it is a martial artist's duty to chase spirits. That and your 'girls are weak' attitude plains piss me off."

And she dashed at the unsuspecting Genma, who now had Maomorin's skill and thus couldn't defend itself.

"NYOW, OW! This hurts!" it shouted. "NYOW! It doesn't bend that way!"

Maomorin soon exited Genma's body, leaving him bruised on the ground.

"Nyow, I can't have such a brutal bride," it said with fear in its voice.

"Release me now, stupid girl," said Genma on the ground.

Akane frowned before grinning.

"It seems that this spirit had left its mark in your body, mister Saotome," she said in a false apologetic tone. "I'm afraid I have to beat it out of you."

"What do you mean, girl?" asked Genma afraid. "OW, stop it! OUCH, not there! Hey, that doesn't bend that way! GYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Genma's beating continued for a few minutes until he fell unconscious due to the pain. Akane's sister and Soun sweated at the savagery of the beating. Happosai shed a nostalgic tear.

"Reminds me of the good old time when Genma and Soun took the fall for my mischief," he said with emotion. "Good time, good times."

"Definitely too brutal," muttered the cat. "I have to find the owner of the other bell."

"You mean this girl?" said a male voice behind him.

Maomorin turned and saw a trenchcoat-clad pigtailed boy holding a trembling purple-haired girl by the scruff of her neck like a naughty child.

"What are you doing here?" asked Akane.

"I caught her sneaking around my house and... persuaded her to tell the whole story," replied Jotaro. "Apparently, if the owners of the bells are of the opposite sex, they have to fall in love, otherwise the woman is taken by this cat spirit as a bride."

"And she hoped that you would fall in love with her to save her?" asked Happosai with disbelief. "Even given the way you treat her?"

"I know, she didn't think it through," said Jotaro idly. He then eyed Maomorin. "This is your bride. She's a bit on the violent side but you can calm her pretty easily with water."

Jotaro then threw Shampoo into the pond. A wet pink cat came out of it and tried to dry its fur.

"And the best of all for you," said Jotaro as if he were selling a car, "she turns into a cat if you pour cold water on her."

Maomorin had big love-filled eyes, it was a little creepy.

"NYOW, my love!" it screamed happily.

"MEEEEOOOOOOW!" mewled Shampoo angrily as she fled away from it, forsaking her clothes into the pond.

"Don't be like that! Our love was written in the stars! Come and accept my love!" shouted Maomorin while pursuing her.

Shampoo cursed in cat language as she fled faster. Her great-grandmother was going to get it, Elder or not.

Jotaro eyed the scene with a smirk. Akane and Happosai weren't so restrained.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" they laughed under the fearful gaze of the others.

* * *

The next day, Jotaro and Akane were treated to a rather bizarre sight at the entrance of Furinkan. Maomorin was pursuing Shampoo with a bucket of water.

"Come to me my love!" shouted the spirit cat. "Let the fires of passion burn for us!"

"LEAVE SHAMPOO ALONE!" cried the unfortunate part-time cat girl.

She ran away followed by Maomorin, cursing in Chinese all the while under the eye of flabbergasted Furinkan students.

"She really should have thought it through," commented Jotaro. "I wonder if she'll be able to get rid of it." Akane laughed.

"Need I remind you that you have Kuno after you?" said Jotaro snidely. Akane shut up.

"Well he is after your girl form too," she grumbled eventually.

"Touché," said Jotaro with a smile. "But he is still scared of her. Does he look scared of you normally?"

Akane grumbled more.

* * *

"I have to give it to you, you're dedicated," commented Jotaro as he saw a bedraggled and wet Akane come out of the swimming-pool with the principal who looked as disappointed as she was.

"I know," she growled. "I tried to swim. I really tried, but I didn't manage. I wonder how I didn't even manage these simple exercises."

"You've got another curse," replied Jotaro.

Akane and the principal stopped in their tracks.

"What are you talking about, keiki," asked the principal.

"Akane has two curses," explained Jotaro. "That I know of at least. The first one makes her a terrible cook. The second, I suspected but just noticed. When you tried the exercises the principal showed you, there was a weird aura at work. It's most certainly a curse."

Akane reeled back.

"But who would curse me?" she whimpered.

"I don't know," replied Jotaro honestly. "I'm investigating curses to see if these are reversible. I'll tell you once I find something."

* * *

"Genma was almost adopted as a panda?" asked Jotaro trying not to smirk.

"He was mooching over at a strange house with an ill child," explained Akane. "The child likes pandas so his mother had Genma stay here. But he eats a lot and certainly not bamboo so she wanted to get rid of him."

"That explains so much," snorted Jotaro. "How did you get him to leave his version of heaven?"

"I suggested to the woman to neuter him so he didn't become rabid and he fled as soon as he heard that," laughed Akane. "The young boy, Yotaro, followed him on twenty kilometres."

Jotaro stared at her.

"I thought he was ill," he said curious.

"More like the epitome of laziness," corrected Akane. "Needless to say, his mother was thrilled and is now expecting more of him."

"Serves him right," commented Jotaro.

* * *

"Ryoga needs my help because he is too strong?" asked Jotaro a bit surprised.

"He got a weird tattoo that makes him the best and makes it literally impossible for him to lose," explained Akane who had a bruise on her face. "I tried and got creamed. I'd have had Happosai test it but he is away for a few days, so you're my best choice."

"Okay, let's do it," said Jotaro. "Poor guy, he must be really downed after he hit you. He likes you after all."

"I know, but I don't love him the same way," replied Akane. "I make it obvious that we're just friends but I'm not sure he gets it."

"He is a bit thick," stated Jotaro. "Besides, you still like Tofu, don't you?"

Akane's blush was all the answer he needed. They arrived at the Tendo Dojo. Ryoga was moping in the middle of it, visibly depressed.

"Ryoga?" said Akane. "I brought Jotaro here."

Jotaro noticed the impressive number of Dojo signs on Ryoga's backpack. So he had managed to defeat a few masters. Jotaro might have to go all out, after all.

"Akane? Jotaro?" said Ryoga plaintively while lifting his head.

"I'm here," said Jotaro neutrally. "Impressive set of victory proof you have here."

"I don't want them if I have to carry this tattoo all my life," he sighed. "It's not worth it."

He lifted his shirt and showed a horribly ridiculous simplified drawing of a face. Jotaro eyed it for a second.

"I'll admit that it looks dumb," said Jotaro. "But why do you want to get rid of it at all cost?"

Jotaro saw Ryoga's furtive looks at Akane and understood.

"Akane, could you go fetch a brush?" asked Jotaro. "It might get off if we scrub it."

Akane nodded and went away.

"What's the problem you can't talk about to Akane," asked Jotaro when Akane was away.

"This drawing, it translates in my pig form and it's even more ridiculous," wailed Ryoga. "I want to get rid of it!"

Jotaro found it a bit strange that Ryoga was concerned by his second form's looks but didn't dwell much on it.

"Well, I'll try to attack you and check if it's that powerful," he said and got ready.

Ryoga remained on the ground and closed his eyes. Jotaro dashed at him and tried to hit. Ryoga blocked unnaturally and tried to counter. Jotaro countered back and Ryoga blocked it anyway. This went on for a few seconds before Jotaro hit Ryoga and said boy reeled back utterly surprised. Akane managed to come at that moment with a brush.

"You touched him!" she exclaimed not so surprised.

"You touched me!" said Ryoga elated.

"I knew it," said Jotaro calmly. "This tattoo doesn't make you invincible, it just made you reach your highest physical potential. It is still not enough to beat me but it was enough to beat all those masters in the Dojos you found. Which means that you're fearsomely strong."

"I'll never be strong enough to beat you, then," said Ryoga dejected.

"Not in a physical straight fight," Akane shot back. "Which means that to get a hope to beat Jotaro, you have to stop fighting straight, use weapons, or use ki attacks or traps."

"At the very least, I give you a benchmark you have to strive to reach," commented Jotaro.

Ryoga frowned. He had always wanted to beat Jotaro but would have to rely on tricks to do so. It didn't please him one bit. He sighed and got ready.

"Let's fight," he said.

Jotaro dashed at him and pummelled him with the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. Ryoga parried most of the punches, more than he had ever taken at least. The rest were countered by the Bakusai Tenketsu training he had endured. Ryoga still reeled back and didn't even touch Jotaro. Jotaro then tried shiatsu points next. However, the ones he touched didn't work well or remained active for more than one second. If he wanted to beat Ryoga with shiatsu he would have to kill him. Not exactly what he wanted to do. He summoned Star Platinum. The Stand was monstrously strong. A bit weaker than Josuke's Crazy Diamond but still strong enough to punch through steel and granite. Even Ryoga wouldn't withstand that.

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed the Stand although only Jotaro could hear it. He was screaming in symphony with it.

Star Platinum pummelled Ryoga mercilessly with its fists. Ryoga might have endured one or two, he was strong, but he couldn't endure the onslaught that came on him. Jotaro was right, the tattoo enhanced existing abilities only. Ryoga couldn't avoid or counter something he couldn't see. He was unconscious before Star Platinum even finished to strike. Ryoga flew away and hit the Dojo's wall. He fell boneless on the ground. Jotaro lifted his shirt. Sure enough, the ridiculous tattoo was vanishing.

"Well, this is done, at least," said Jotaro. He then picked Ryoga's body up and hoisted it on his shoulder.

"When are you bringing him?" asked Akane.

"Doctor Tofu, where else?" retorted Jotaro.

He then thought about it and gave Ryoga to Akane, who caught him a bit surprised.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"On second thought, you bring him here," stated Jotaro. "I have thing to do."

"Liar," called Akane. "You just want me to see Tofu."

"Are you saying you don't want this?" asked Jotaro while raising an eyebrow.

"I called you a liar," countered Akane. "I never said I wasn't grateful."

And with that she was off to Tofu's practise. Jotaro went back home. He would visit Tofu the next day for his training.

* * *

"You did it," said Jotaro to Tofu who was exuding mist from his mouth.

Tofu had been training for a week with Jotaro to be able to perform the Soul Of Ice. He had managed a week before without distractions and had now achieved it in its entirety. He could now call it when in presence of Kasumi, at least that was what Jotaro had trained him for.

"I'm glad," said Tofu while he eyed the Photo of Kasumi with a dispassionate gaze. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Jotaro.

"Now that I can think of Kasumi objectively, I wonder what I actually found in her," commented the Doctor still under the effect of the Soul Of Ice. "Sure she is rather beautiful, but it doesn't warrant an insatiable lust like the one I feel. It's as if I were cursed."

There was silence for a minute before Jotaro eyed Tofu intently. Tofu's eyes went wide.

"You might be onto something, Tofu," stated Jotaro firmly.

"How didn't I notice that before?" wondered Tofu. "Thanks to you I know that curses exist and it didn't even occur to me that I could have one. I feel stupid."

"In your defence, curses aren't that common," stated Jotaro. "What bothers me is that Akane has two of them. And there's one common link between Akane and you."

"Kasumi," realised the Doctor. "But who would want to harm Kasumi by cursing the people she knows?"

"I'm already investigating," revealed Jotaro. "That's three curses I have to counter."

"Four if you count your own curse," added Tofu.

"Why would I want to cure it?" asked Jotaro rhetorically. "I like my curse. The only thing that bothers me is its trigger but I like its effect just fine. It allows me sexual fantasies of varied kind."

Hadn't he been under the effect of the Soul Of Ice, Tofu would have blushed. As it was, he just shrugged.

"If you say so," he just said. "Warn me if you learn something." He released the Soul Of Ice.

"That goes without saying," replied Jotaro. "And while you're at it, try to get laid. You're not getting younger, you know."

Jotaro went away while the Doctor stammered incoherently.

* * *

"Happosai as Santa Claus?" asked Jotaro a bit surprised.

"It was really cute," said Akane. "There were two kids, no more than ten counting both, that called him Santa Claus because he gave them presents one Christmas. Turns out he got them panties and bras but they still liked it. Since they were poor, they were happy beyond belief to receive something."

"Perverted to the bone," commented Jotaro about Happosai. "And to think he was to become a man of religion. But still he is inherently good."

"Tell me about it," said Akane. "He kept them up all night by telling them stories that had a meaning. He taught them more through the stories than they ever learned at their orphanage. Before they went back to it, he performed a firework."

"A great man," commented Jotaro. "That's what he is despite being a pervert... What's this?"

They had arrived at the Tendo's house after Akane's shift at the Jusenkyohanten. A great package was waiting for Akane with her name printed on it. At least that was what they supposed since it said: "To the fierce tigress Akane Tendo". They both deduced that the package came from a Kuno, the bokken-wielding one for sure. Jotaro tore it open in case there was a trap. The package revealed itself to be a bust of Kuno with a recorder. Jotaro pushed the button and they learned a strange speech from Kuno.

"So if I understand right," summarized Akane, "because Kuno was the millionth to try he was lucky enough to free the Mangan Maru and was thus granted three wishes and wants me to see him get the wishes."

"That's about it," confirmed Jotaro, impressed at Akane's skill at deciphering Kuno's babbling.

"But why would he want me to bring you?" wondered Akane.

"How much are you willing to bet that one of his wishes is to vanquish me?" asked Jotaro back.

"Right," sighed Akane. "We have the idiot to deal with tomorrow and he has a wish-granting sword to help him."

"Sucks to be me," commented Jotaro idly.

The next day, Jotaro and Akane came to the sight of Kuno brandishing a sword in Furinkan.

"Behold, foul demon!" he spouted at Jotaro. "With this sword I will vanquish thee! Magan Maru, give me the power to defeat the foul cur Jotaro Kujo."

A lightning bolt thundered in the background. Then nothing happened for five seconds. Then an ominous voice coming from the sword shouted "System Error" in a mechanical voice and Kuno was struck by a bolt of lightning. Once the students could look, they noticed that Kuno was still alive although quite singed and with fuming hair. Of the sword, only a pile of ash remained.

"I fight on!" shouted Kuno before crashing to the ground unconscious and being taken away to the nurse by two students.

"What happened?" asked Akane a bit unnerved.

"My guess is that Kuno gave the sword a wish that was impossible to grant and it simply short-circuited," replied Jotaro idly.

"So defeating you is a wish that cannot be granted?" asked Akane sharply.

"Not for Kuno and not with this sword at least," concluded Jotaro.

* * *

A.N: The Hiryuu Shoten Ha at last. Since Happosai is an ally, I had to do something different, especially since Jotaro already knew it. The rest follows the manga somewhat loosely. Not exactly fillers since some of them have an incidence later on. And the thing with Maomorin was just too funny. It's not the last time we see it.

* * *

Continuing from before, my favourite Stand battles in part 5.

5th: Risotto Nero (Metallica) vs Vinegar Doppio/The Boss (Epitath/King Crimson). A rather singular battle given that it puts two villains against one another. It's probably the only battle of that kind in the whole series. And what a battle it is! Metallica is one of the most dangerous Stands in part five since it is so versatile. It allows the user to manipulate magnetic fields, allowing many actions, from camouflage to killing (with a wide variety of means, including making razors out of the iron in a person's body and asphyxiating her due to the lack of iron in the body). Even against such a dangerous opponent, Doppio manages to prevail with the help of The Boss (the main personality in the body they both share) and the powers of prediction of his Stand Epitath. The Boss only appears to kill Risotto and Abbachio (to prevent him from finding his identity). We see the perfect example of the strange relationship between two people in the same body.

4th: Giorno Giovanna (Gold Experience), Leone Abbacchio (Moody Blues) and Pannacotta Fugo (Purple Haze) vs Illuso (Man In The Mirror). A strange battle with a parallel world created by a Stand (Man In The Mirror). Illuso's Stand creates a world where he can drag people without their Stand, which makes him dangerous. It is also the only battle where we see Fugo's Stand, the author considered it so powerful that he took Fugo out of the group after Buccellati's battle with the Boss. Purple Haze isn't that extreme (to me at least) but is gifted with a virus that kills almost instantly, which shortens the battle dramatically. We also see another example of Giorno's tendency to put himself in danger by sacrificing parts of his body. We also see what amounts to the last of Abbachio's battle (too bad, this guy was great).

3rd: Giorno Giovanna (Gold Experience), Guido Mista (Sex Pistols) and Blono Buccellati (Sticky Fingers) vs Cioccolata (Greenday) and Secco (Oasis). A battle in two parts, first Giorno and Mista against Cioccolata and then Buccellati against Secco. Cioccolata appears to be a monstrous bastard, totally sick and obsessed with torturing people and willing to kill thousands of innocents to get Buccellati's group. Secco isn't as sick but somewhat more unhinged. This battle is also the confirmation that Buccellati's body has been dead for some time.

2nd: The Boss (King Crimson) vs Blono Buccellati (Sticky Fingers). An extremely strange battle with one of the most powerful Stand ability ever. King Crimson is virtually invincible with its ability to erase time. It makes a few breathtaking scenes, including the one when Buccellati attacks his future self or when Giorno realises that time is behaving erratically. However, Buccellati still manages to outsmart The Boss despite his obvious weakness compared to him, even if he loses his life in the process (his soul remains in his dead body for a while after that).

1st: Blono Buccellati (Sticky Fingers), Giorno Giovanna (Gold Experience/ Gold Experience Requiem), Guido Mista (Sex Pistols), Narancia Ghirga (Aerosmith), Trish Una (Spice Girl) and Jean Pierre Polnareff (Silver Chariot/Silver Chariot Requiem) vs Silver Chariot Requiem and Diavolo (King Crimson). This battle is one of the longest ever, starting as soon as Polnareff meets Diavolo (The Boss's real identity). The return of Polnareff in a wheelchair. Diavolo destroys Polnareff's body but accidentally pierces Silver Chariot with the Arrow. The Arrow has the ability to make Stands evolve according to the need of the user. Since Polnareff wanted the Arrow protected even in death, Silver Chariot Requiem appeared, totally uncontrollable, and exchanged souls all around. Problem: Diavolo's body had two personalities, thus two souls, which means that one of the member of the group holds Diavolo, who is biding his time until he understands the situation. It becomes obvious when Narancia is killed. The group, with Polnareff in the tortoise's body, try to get to the Arrow but the Arrow turns Stands against their users. Diavolo finds Silver Chariot Requiem's weakness and is about to grab it when Giorno counters him, forcing him to take control of Trish's soul. As he gets to the Arrow, Buccellati manages to destroy Silver Chariot Requiem definitively, killing himself in the process, and gives the Arrow to Giorno, who awakes Gold Experience Requiem, the most powerful Stand to this date. The end of Diavolo is one of the strangest moments in the whole series and one of the most impressive.


	17. The Riddler

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XVI) The Riddler

Ukyo didn't believe her eyes. She recognized this flat hat and this beard that made the man in front of her look like the living portrait of the King of Clubs. She was lucky he hadn't seen her. He was currently trying to con little kids in games of cards but that was Mr King for you. Since he was too stupid to win at cards with adults (even when cheating) he did this with children. He had done it several times over the years. She then remembered that Jotaro knew all about Ranma's memories, which put her in a quandary.

On the one hand, it would be fun to see Jotaro Kujo deal with Mr King. If he didn't drive him off, he would have to give what Ranma had bet to him. A win-win situation for Ukyo. On the other hand, he could very well decide that Ukyo had sent this crazy guy after him and retaliate against her like he usually did. Given that the last time he had retaliated he had painted a picture of her naked on her restaurant's wall, she didn't like the possibilities. Not at all. There was only one choice for her in the end.

She sighed and decided to find him at school.

* * *

She found him while he was discussing with Akane. She went close to them and noticed that he had stopped talking without even seeing her. She wondered if she had a sixth sense or something like that. It was actually more like a seventh or eighth but she didn't know that. Jotaro turned around and faced her with a neutral face that still displayed a look of danger. It screamed power and confidence and made Ukyo surer that her choice was the best one.

"Ukyo," he said calmly. "What can I do for you?"

"We've got a problem," she said without preamble.

"You mean that you and Ranma would have a problem and that since I carry his legacy, it falls to me to solve it," countered Jotaro before sighing. "So what is the problem?"

"Well, you know of Mr King?" asked Ukyo.

"Tall, big, looks like the King of Clubs, gambling addict, ripped off little kids at cards because he isn't skilled enough to cheat adults?" enumerated Jotaro. "Didn't you and Ranma throw him into a river to avoid paying what you owed him before you learnt he cheated?"

"Yes," answered Ukyo. "He has come back and will probably want to get back what he thinks is due to him."

"I don't see the problem," stated Jotaro. "You bet your Yattai. Since you don't have it anymore, you don't owe him anything."

"Hey, it's true!" exclaimed Ukyo happily. "But I don't remember what Ranma betted."

Jotaro thought about it before going still. He then turned to Akane.

"We've got a problem," he said in a neutral voice.

"Why are you including me?" she asked clueless.

"Because while Ranma didn't know he was engaged to one of you, he knew he was going to inherit your family's Dojo and thus betted it to Mr King," revealed Jotaro.

Akane and Ukyo eyed him disbelievingly. How had Ranma dared to bet something that didn't belong to him?

"I know, I know, it sounds stupid," admitted Jotaro. "But keep in mind that Ranma was six at the time. He was wholly ignorant of the inner workings of the world and his father didn't teach him much. It's almost logical that he would do something stupid like that. Besides, Ukyo did the same thing since the Yattai belonged to her father."

"That's true," conceded Ukyo. "But I still kept it within my family."

"Ranma didn't exactly understand what it implied but he was told that the Tendos would be his family," countered Jotaro. "So I don't see how it is any different from your bet. The only difference is that Ranma's bet still exists. That's the only difference between the two of you."

Ukyo tried to answer, she even opened her mouth. Then she stopped. She had nothing to answer to that.

The group then made its way to the Tendo Dojo. Jotaro had explained that it was the most logical place for Mr King to be. That or the Ucchan's, but the compulsive gambler didn't know whether the Yattai was at the Ucchan's or not, so the Tendo Dojo was still the best bet to find him.

Sure enough, the trio found him at the Tendo's living-room in company of Soun, Nabiki and Kasumi. The three of them eyed Jotaro warily, Nabiki being the most scared of them. Mr King eyed Jotaro and Ukyo expectantly.

"Ah," he said emphatically. "Ukyo Kuonji and Ranma Saotome. I've been waiting for you. You owe me quite a lot after all these years."

"Mr King," stated Jotaro neutrally. "Still alive I see. How unfortunate. Ranma should have loaded you with stones when he threw you in the river."

All the people present save Akane looked at him with a hint of fear. They knew he would do it. Akane did too but it didn't bother her.

"I'm harder to get rid of than that," boasted Mr King. "Especially when I won our games and thus what you had bet."

"You didn't win, you cheated," stated Jotaro. "There's a difference."

"It doesn't matter," replied the Gambling King. "You owe me. And I intend to collect."

"It is a matter of honour," said Soun firmly and somewhat haughtily.

"Need I remind you how much I care about honour?" stated Jotaro feral.

Soun cowered away before regaining his countenance.

"You should still abide to the terms that were set, both of you," he said stubbornly.

"There is a problem," interrupted Ukyo. "I lost the Yattai I gambled and I have no way of knowing where it is now."

"That's unfortunate," replied Mr King while frowning. "I will release you of your debt. I know that what this young man bet is still here and where."

"There's a problem with that," cut Jotaro. "I never bet anything to you since I'm not Ranma Saotome. Ranma Saotome died a few months ago. My name is Jotaro Kujo and I'm Ranma's perfect twin. So I don't owe anything to you."

"It doesn't matter," replied the Gambling King. "I will take what is due to me."

"He is right," said Soun who was happy to give Jotaro some form of payback. "You still owe him something."

"Dad, you don't want to do this," warned Akane.

"Nonsense, Akane," replied Soun. "Jotaro may not be Ranma but he carries his legacy. It would be normal to pay off Ranma's debts."

"I have no problem paying this one," replied Jotaro. "Of course, you won't protest over it, Soun Tendo. You're a man of honour after all."

"Of course I am," replied Soun boasting while smirking giddily at having roped Jotaro into a promise. Maybe he'd be able to rope him into others then. "I will see that this debt is paid off."

"Fine," said Akane. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I claim this as my win!" exclaimed Mister King while holding a paper. "The Tendo Dojo."

On the paper was indeed noted "I gamble the Tendo Dojo" in Ranma's scrawl. Akane sighed. Nabiki and Kasumi looked non-pulsed. They didn't care that much for the Dojo but they realised that their father had been had. Soun looked like he had swallowed a very sour lemon.

"Well, I've got no problems with that," stated Jotaro with a smirk. "It's not mine after all and its owner swore that he would give it. I've done my part. Good bye."

And he went off, followed by a flummoxed Ukyo. Soun looked thunderstruck. He had lost his Dojo out of pride and out of his will of revenge. He didn't know how it could be worse.

"Just when I think you can't sink lower, you do something like that," said Akane sadly. "You disappoint me, dad."

Soun bit back a wail. It could be worse. His youngest daughter didn't consider him worth anything now.

"How can I get the Dojo back?" he asked to Mr King.

"Well, you could always gamble for it," said the Gambling King with a smile.

"Done!" said Soun happily. "I bet the Tendo kitchen!"

Akane had a bad feeling about it. And she wasn't the only one if Nabiki's frown was of any indication.

* * *

Two hours later, the bell at Mikoto's door rang. Jotaro let Mikoto continue to prepare dinner and went to answer the door.

"Akane... And family," she said while looking at the Tendos who were all carrying luggage. "Why are you here?"

"This dimwit here," said Akane while pointing irritatingly at her father, "thought it would be a good idea to bet parts of our house to get back the Dojo and lost nearly all of it. Nabiki managed to get most of it back until Mr King turned the tables and won back nearly everything. The only parts we still have are our bedrooms and since we had to store our belongings in them we need to find some other place to sleep."

"Betting parts of a house?" asked Jotaro with a raised eyebrow. "Who would be retarded enough to do that?"

"Well Mr King was retarded enough to accept," pointed out Akane.

"Touché," conceded Jotaro. "So why did you come here?"

"Could you house me until we get the house back?" asked Akane.

"Well sure I guess," answered Jotaro. "You'll sleep on my bed."

"Then where will you sleep?" asked Akane.

"Depends whether I see Michiru or not," Jotaro shot back. "At worse I'll sleep on the couch. I only need three hours of sleep per night. Let yourself in."

Akane nodded and took her luggage. The rest of her family took theirs and prepared to go away.

"Where are you going?" asked Jotaro.

The three Tendos stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, you didn't sound like you would house us," replied Nabiki.

"You didn't ask," countered Jotaro. "However, whether you can stay here or not is not for me to decide. Mikoto!"

Mikoto came soon after Jotaro called and was filled in on the Tendos situation by Jotaro. She accepted them easily enough, although she tore Soun a new one when she learned what had occurred. Jotaro went in to finish and expand the meal since the number of people had tripled.

The meal was pleasant enough, Kasumi being impressed by the plates, especially when she learned that Jotaro had made most of them. Nabiki eyed him calculatingly and Soun was trying not to do anything that would earn him other reproaches. Akane was oblivious to all the interactions but Jotaro noticed. Then the conversation went to the part that Soun dreaded.

"So how do you intend to get back your house?" asked Jotaro.

"I don't know," sighed Soun. "I tried gambling and it didn't work so well."

"I tried then and managed to get back most of it," added Nabiki. "Mr King isn't exactly skilled when it comes to masking his emotions and it reveals his game easily. But then he started to cheat and I couldn't do anything."

"I've tried to propose to buy the house back but he didn't want," wailed Soun. "He just wants to gamble and none of us are good enough to win against him."

"I could do it," stated Jotaro. Soun stopped wailing and turned to him expectantly.

"You would do this for us?" he asked full of hope.

"No," replied Jotaro crushing said hope. Akane shrugged. She had expected this. What came next too. "Not for free at least."

Soun regained hope but Nabiki was warier.

"And what would it cost us to get back the house and the Dojo?" she asked carefully.

"A solemn promise," replied Jotaro. Nabiki stared. She hadn't expected this.

"I thought you didn't believe in honour," noted Kasumi a bit curious.

"I actually don't," Jotaro shot back. "But I do believe in promises among consenting individual, if only because if you don't hold your part, I get the right to maim or kill you."

Soun froze and understood that he would have to sacrifice something he held dear. He still decided that he had to get back his house and thus should at least listen to this promise.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked Jotaro.

"Simple," answered Jotaro. "Should I get back your house and Dojo, you forget about this engagement nonsense and don't ever bother me with it again, whatever the shape of said engagement is implied. There will be no joining the schools and it also affects my offspring. The engagement is totally over."

Soun bit back a retort. This was much that was asked of him but he didn't really have a choice. He hoped that Genma would forgive him. Speaking of Genma...

"Genma won't stand for it once he gets out of the hospital, you know," he pointed out.

"I know, I'm actually counting on it," said Jotaro with a smirk. "You deal with him on your own and I get to torture him some more when he bothers me. So what do you say?"

Soun sighed defeated and looked resolutely at Jotaro.

"I swear on my daughters' head that should you get back our house and Dojo, I won't ever bother you or your kind with the engagement anymore," he said firmly.

His daughters were impressed. For all his misgivings, Soun worshipped them more than life itself and would avoid them hurt as best as he could and they knew it. To swear on their heads meant that he was dead serious about it.

"That's enough for me," said Jotaro casually. "I'll be getting your Dojo back tomorrow."

"How will you get it back?" asked Nabiki. "When in a corner, Mr King cheats."

"I'm a better poker player than about anyone I know of," stated Jotaro. "Why is that? Because I cheat so well that no one ever caught me."

"You?" snorted Nabiki. "I'd like to see it."

"Fine," agreed Jotaro while he produced a game of cards from... somewhere. "Have it your way."

And he played against Nabiki, who was suitably impressed. Not only did Jotaro always win but he did it while predicting both of their games. Nabiki had no doubt that he would win against Mr King.

"If that was strip-poker, you'd be naked by now," specified Jotaro. "Still think I don't have what it takes to win against Mr King?"

"I guess you can do it," conceded Nabiki grudgingly.

At that moment, a song was heard. Nabiki recognized it as a rock song which title she didn't remember. It actually was "Another Brick In The Wall Part II" by Pink Floyd. It came from Jotaro's pocket. Jotaro took something from his pocket and put it to his ear. The song stopped.

"Good evening, Michiru," he said in the item. "Yes, I'm free tonight, but we can't stay at my house, we are housing people. Yours neither? Well there's this four stars hotel in Juuban that I've wanted to try. I'll meet you in Juuban's park in one hour. See you later. Bye."

He shut the device and put it back in his pocket. He then noticed that three out of four Tendos had bewildered looks on their faces. Mikoto was relaxed, as was Akane. He realised what had caused such astonishment in the others.

"It's what I call a cellphone," he said simply. "The JSDF has some and I have miniaturized it to be less conspicuous. It allows telephonic communication nearly everywhere on Earth, even in space."

"It-It's fantastic!" said Nabiki awed. "Just imagine the money that could be done with that."

"And imagine how dangerous it would be if terrorist groups had some," countered Jotaro. "There's a reason the army hasn't sold the patents yet. This is too dangerous to be released among the civilian population for now. It has to be restricted first."

"Was that Michiru?" asked Mikoto in an oblivious tone.

"Yes, it was," replied Jotaro. "I'm seeing her tonight, so I won't sleep here."

"Okay," replied Mikoto carelessly.

"Who is Michiru?" asked Kasumi curious.

"The closest person Jotaro actually has to a girlfriend," replied Akane, knowing that Jotaro wouldn't care if she said that.

"Girlfriend?" said Nabiki startled. "But I thought you were gay!"

"I'm bisexual," replied Jotaro. "There's a difference. But it sure was fun to make people believe I was only gay. Got most of them off of my case as well. Well, I'm off for a night of quality time with my girlfriend."

"It probably involves screwing her brains out," said Akane carelessly. He three other Tendos choke. Since when did Akane said such things about people?

"Most certainly," confirmed Jotaro. "Though it could be the other way around. She's bisexual too after all."

"How improper!" exclaimed Kasumi.

"In case you didn't know, I don't care about proper," Jotaro shot back. "And you don't have any say in this. So I don't care about your opinion. I'm going now, for a night full of wild sex."

And with that he was off. The three Tendos looked at him strangely while he went away before turning to Akane.

"What?" she asked.

"You seem strangely okay with his perverseness," pointed out Nabiki.

"Well, Happosai beat my anti-pervert attitude out of me and Jotaro took profit of that and started to brag about his sexual feats to me," explained Akane. "There are few you can say to me that would set me off. I've seen Jotaro's feats on video, after all."

"Videos?" asked Kasumi weakly, feeling faint.

"He's done videos of it," detailed Akane. "It's impressive, really. Maybe he'll show you, if you ask nicely."

Kasumi fainted, Nabiki blushed and Soun looked a little sad. To think it could have been one of his daughters...

* * *

Mr King was gambling with little kids in his new room in the Tendo Dojo and winning, albeit not without cheating. He suddenly noticed Jotaro Kujo come into the room.

"What can I do for you?" he asked carefree.

"I've come to gamble against you," stated Jotaro. "I want you to bet the Tendo house's rooms."

"And what will you bet?" asked the Gambling king with a raised eyebrow.

Jotaro wordlessly produced a gold ingot from... somewhere. Mr King's eyes widened.

"Is that enough?" asked Jotaro neutrally.

"Yes, of course," replied Mr King. "We'll play...

"Poker," interrupted Jotaro. "I put the highest bet so I get to choose the game."

Mr King sweated. He wasn't good at poker and he knew it. But it would be so worth it.

"Done," he said.

"I'm dealing," replied Jotaro as he took a game on the table.

And the onslaught began. Jotaro took back nearly all of the rooms of the Tendos. Mr King tried to cheat but it wasn't enough. Then only three rooms and the Dojo remained.

Jotaro dealt the cards. Mr King eyed them and noticed that he had a good hand. Three kings. He put one room as a bet and waited to win. He then noticed that Jotaro hadn't taken his cards. They were still lying on the table.

"Aren't you going to take your cards?" he asked.

"My cards are all right where there are," stated Jotaro.

"But you haven't even seen them," objected Mr King.

Jotaro sent him a look that made him extremely uneasy. It was as if he could see right through him. Jotaro then snorted, condescendingly, as if he knew exactly what Mr King had in his hand and that he could still win. But it was impossible. He hadn't even looked at his own hand.

"I said, my cards are all right where they are," insisted Jotaro.

Mr King cheered. That meant that he was about to win. He took one more card and got a fourth king. He smiled wildly. He then noticed that Jotaro had yet to touch his cards. He wondered if Jotaro knew his cards. He then scoffed. How could he?

"I bet a second ingot," said Jotaro.

Mr King stared. How mad was this guy? He probably didn't have anything. Still he matched the bet so as not to lose. He thus betted another room.

"I bet a third ingot," said Jotaro.

Mr King raised his eyebrows and raised his bet, betting the last room of the house. Then Jotaro shocked him.

"You think you'll be able to win with your kings, don't you?" he said. "I bet a fourth ingot."

Mr King sweated. Jotaro knew he had kings and thought he could still win! Maybe he had seen three and thought he could win with three aces. He betted the Tendo Dojo. He then looked at Jotaro and noticed something strange.

Jotaro had a half smoked cigarette in his mouth. That in itself wasn't all that strange but there was something bothering Mr King. He hadn't seen the trenchcoat-wearing youth put it in his mouth. And when on Earth had he lit it up? He shook his uneasy feeling and prepare to the showdown.

"Try to overcome this!" he shouted with far more confidence than he really had. "I have..."

"Who told you that the stakes were over?" interrupted Jotaro. "I am allowed to up them."

Mr King's jaw dropped. What was he playing at?

"Still think your four kings will save you?" said Jotaro idly. "I bet a fifth ingot."

Mr King sweated more. Jotaro knew he had four kings and thought he could win. He had to have four aces. But how could he? And even though that was the case, how would he know?

"But now, the stakes aren't equal," mused Jotaro aloud. "Which means that you have to bet something precious too."

"I don't have anything else to bet," gulped the conman frankly disturbed by Jotaro's display of casualty.

"You have your life," stated Jotaro dangerously. "Either you lose now or you bet your life. And if you lose, your life is in my hand, which means that I can get away with taking your life. Or selling it to the highest bidder. There are many people who would pay quite a hefty sum for a few of your organs on the black market."

Mr King started to shake. He wasn't willing to bet his life, he was too attached to it. He then noticed that Jotaro had a glass of whiskey in his hand. Where had he gotten it? If he could do that he had enough skill to take the four aces in the game. Mr King sighed.

"I lose," he said and revealed his kings.

"I get the Tendo Dojo and the remaining room," stated Jotaro.

Mr King's shoulders slumped and he gathered his things and went away, never to be seen again. The Tendos, who had been looking at the games, got near. While Soun thanked Jotaro and reiterated his promise, Nabiki looked at Jotaro's card curious.

And put them down absolutely thunderstruck. The others looked at her curious.

"What's the matter, Nabiki?" asked Kasumi.

"Nothing!" she said awed. "He had nothing and betted five gold ingots on nothing! And he won!"

"That's why it's called bluff," stated Jotaro. "It's the skill to win with bad cards. Sure I could have cheated but it's funnier that way. I didn't think I had such a bad hand though. Had I know it I would have been flustered."

"Flustered?" snorted Akane. "When are you ever flustered?"

Nabiki eyed him with wide eyes and a new emotion on her face when it came to Jotaro: respect without fear. There was still fear but for once it was eclipsed by respect.

"Besides, the stakes weren't that high for me," added Jotaro idly. "The first time I played poker that way, I had to bet souls. And the player across me was a better cheater than I was at the time. It was harder to play against him. Then again, he wasn't willing to forfeit his life either."

Nabiki stared at him warily. The fear was still there after all.

* * *

Jotaro wondered what Ranma had done to deserve this. He had been attacked by three bald men, the Niku-Men, who wanted the string that tied his hair, the Dragon Whisker. It had prevented his hair from growing too fast since Ranma had eaten another of the Dragon Whiskers. However, the effect had faded and now, Jotaro could wear his hair unbound in his male form without problem, which meant that the magic linked to all Dragon Whiskers had stopped functioning. He thus didn't have any need to keep it and had given it to the Niku-Men. The cry of anguish he had heard when they finally understood that the magic that could have made their hair grow back had vanished almost made him smile, almost. It was still retarded.

* * *

"We have a right to invite somebody to the college's party?" asked Motoki to the students' president.

"You can bring a partner," detailed the president, "and you can sponsor someone, like a younger student who would like to integrate our college."

"I have someone in mind that could come," stated Motoki. "But I don't know if he would want to. He is the best student of the nation in his grade after all."

"Well, you could invite him," said the president. "If such a nerd would want to party that is."

Motoki couldn't help it and laughed.

"What's funny?" asked the president.

"Well, I'm not sure he likes to party so I'm not sure he would come, but as for being a nerd, well he is far from it," answered Motoki with a smile.

"If you say so," said the president sceptically. "You can invite him, I don't mind."

* * *

"A party at you college?" asked Jotaro. "Sounds fun. Can I bring a partner?"

"Of course," replied Motoki. "It's not a requirement but it is kind of wanted. I'm going with Reika. Do you have someone in mind?"

"Who do you think?" asked Jotaro while raising an eyebrow.

"Your girlfriend Michiru," replied Motoki. "I should have known. Just so you know, you're going to break many hearts if you go with her."

"How so?" asked Jotaro.

"Well, she might still be in grammar school but Michiru Kaioh is the most sought after girl of the town, even though she's only fourteen. Her father is one of the richest men in Japan, her mother is a well-known politician, she's the heiress of a rich company and she's extremely beautiful."

"I might not be one to talk but still, there are college students lusting after her?" wondered Jotaro.

"Yes," replied Motoki. "Mind you quite a few girls are after you. You're something of a legend in Juuban."

"Thus it will increase your popularity if you're the one sponsoring me," noted Jotaro. Motoki started.

"I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.

"What's what I like about you," stated Jotaro truthfully. "You could take advantage of me but it never comes to your mind. You're not my friend for profit. I will most certainly come."

"Thanks," smiled Motoki.

* * *

"A party at Juuban's college? And you want me to come with you?" asked Michiru to Jotaro after one of their lovemaking sessions. Jotaro was in her girl form.

"If you want to come, that is," said Jotaro matter-of-factly. "And I mean that in a non-sexual way."

"I could have figured that," replied Michiru teasingly. "I would like to come. However there's a slight problem."

"Which is?" asked Jotaro.

"My father," answered Michiru. "If I show up at a party at Juuban's college, people are going to notice it since I'm a VIP in the whole town. And if people recognize me, my father will know of this. And I honestly don't know how he'll react."

"How about your mother?" asked Jotaro.

"She knows I've slept with somebody," replied Michiru. "Some of the looks she sends to me say it all. And it was her who gave me the contraceptive pills. And while she never told me she approved, she didn't disapprove. Else she'd have talked about it with my father and forbidden me from going out at night."

Jotaro thought for a few seconds before facing her.

"You should tell that you're with my male form," said Jotaro finally. "Who knows, he could surprise you. And worst comes to worst, I could bust you out of your room for the night."

Michiru thought on it for a minute and breathed deeply, making her breasts do things Jotaro found enticing.

"That could work," she replied. "What can I tell him about you if he asks?"

"Everything you think you have to," replied Jotaro. "That I'm the best student in my grade, that I'm so rich that his money matters very little to me, that I strive at becoming a force to be reckoned with in the underworld, hell you can even tell him that we made love if you must. Tell him also that we realise that it could be a fling of youth but that we're trying to see if it can be more than just that."

Michiru embraced her and snuggled in her.

"Could you be with me when I tell him?" she asked in a small timid voice.

"When do you want to tell him?" was all that Jotaro replied. Michiru kissed her.

* * *

"You said you had something to tell us," said Ryuuji Kaioh to his daughter who he could tell was nervous.

"What seems to be the problem, dear?" asked a concerned Midori Kaioh. She had caught on her daughter's nervousness. This must have been something important to her.

"I-I have something important to te-tell you," stammered Michiru.

The bell rang at that moment. Michiru jumped from the couch and ran to the door.

"It's for me!" she shouted at her bewildered parents. "I'll be back in a minute."

She opened the door and found Jotaro waiting here. She hugged him fiercely and buried her head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Nervous much?" he just asked.

"Scared to death," confirmed Michiru. "It's not that their opinion will make any difference but I don't want them to be disappointed in me. What will I do if that's the case? What..."

Jotaro silenced her with a kiss that made her toes curl in her shoes. He then released her and noticed that she had a dreamy smile. His diversion had worked. He smiled at her.

"No need to worry now," he just said. "Let's get it over with."

Michiru nodded, took a deep breath and firmed herself. She then led Jotaro into the living-room where her parents were waiting.

"Hello," said her father. "Who is that, Michiru?"

"Mum, Dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend," she said. She then waited for any reaction...

"Well, took you long enough, young lady," said her father with false reproach in his voice. "We were wondering if we would have to talk to you about him."

"He looks collected and a bit dangerous," detailed her mother with a giggle, "kind of like how you were when we met, Ryuuji."

… But not exactly this one. Michiru opened wide eyes and let her mouth gape at the fact that not only did her parents know she had a boyfriend but they also didn't disapprove of him.

"I like them already, Michiru," said Jotaro with a smirk before turning to her. "Michiru?"

"Dear, you're going to catch flies if you let your mouth open like that," said Midori teasingly.

Michiru shut her mouth and eyed her parents with wide eyes.

"You knew?" she managed to say meekly.

"There were traces of blood on your bed sheets a few weeks back and their smell was one I would recognize anywhere," commented Midori. "I knew you weren't a virgin anymore and I told your father about it. We decided to see if you were just stringing men along or if you really had a boyfriend. I'm glad you have a boyfriend, though."

"And you're okay with it?" she asked quite surprised and blushing madly at the idea that her parents knew she had a boyfriend.

"Of course not," countered her father. "Not at first, at least. I wanted to tear into pieces the little upstart who had deflowered my baby girl. Then I remembered when I was twenty and you mother fourteen and realized that we had done the same thing as you did, so I decided to stop bothering you with that since it would be hypocritical. Maybe it's an affliction that only affects fathers with nubile daughters. Freud would have a field day with this."

Jotaro eyed the two parents with a smile.

"Tolerant, comprehensive and not too overbearing," he enumerated before turning to Michiru. "The more I learn about your parents, the more I like them."

"That reminds me, young man," interjected Midori. "We don't even know your name."

"Right," replied Jotaro. "How silly of me. My name is Kujo. Jotaro Kujo."

At this revelation, Michiru's father choked. His wife looked at him inquisitively.

"What's wrong, dear?" she asked curious.

"You're "Kujo the Yakuza Slayer"? That Kujo?" he asked awed. "But... You look so young! Barely eighteen!"

"Sixteen to be precise," countered Jotaro. "And "Yakuza Slayer" is the title given to me by the police. The Yakuza themselves call me the Motherfucker or the Monster."

Ryuuji slumped on the couch, visibly awed. He then turned to Michiru with false indignation.

"Dammit, Michiru," he said falsely angered. "Couldn't you find a boyfriend I could impress and not the opposite?"

"Wait..." said Midori. "He impresses you? But he is so young..."

"Nobody but Jotaro Kujo would pretend to be Jotaro Kujo," replied Ryuuji with finality. "This young man has made Yakuza disappear from Nerima ward by sending them all to the hospital, and it's now happening in Juuban. He easily is the most feared person by the underground populace if what my contacts in the police told me is true. And they don't admit easily that they're receiving help. So of course I'm impressed."

Michiru turned to Jotaro with an inquisitive look.

"You never told me that Yakuza feared you," she accused.

"You never asked," replied Jotaro idly. "And I don't like bragging if it's useless. Besides, knowing what I can do, you could have inferred this."

"True," conceded Michiru.

"So apart from being strong and feared," interrupted Midori, "what can you tell us about you, young man?"

"That he is the best pupil of the nation in his grade and that he is so rich our fortune doesn't matter to him?" cut Michiru idly.

Both of her parents looked flummoxed at her.

"What kind of superhero have you found for yourself, Michiru?" wondered Ryuuji aloud.

"The more time I spend with your parents, the more I like them," said Jotaro impishly to Michiru.

The rest of the evening was spent in the same fashion, Michiru's parents learning a lot about Jotaro. At the end, when he said he should go back home, they invited him to spend the night in their house and didn't object when he asked if he could spend it in Michiru's room.

* * *

"It's nice of you to invite me with you to Zekkyo and it sounds fun but unfortunately, I won't be able to come. I have a previous engagement," said Jotaro sadly at Tofu's practise where he met Akane after her work at the Jusenkyohanten.

Akane's head dropped. She had really wanted to go there and take part in the race. The price of a trip to any hot springs of Japan was interesting but it was the race itself that interested her. Without Jotaro she didn't know who to invite. Ukyo had invited Ryoga when she had found him earlier and Mousse had invited Shampoo, who had strangely said yes (in her defence, Mousse wasn't acting like the blubbering fool he used to be).

"Where are you this week-end?" asked Akane curious.

"I'm invited at a party at Juuban's college," answered Jotaro. "A friend of mine sponsored me for it and I decided to go with Michiru."

"Wouldn't that friend be Motoki?" asked Akane.

"How did you know?" asked Jotaro back before answering to his own question. "Right, he is about the only friend I have you don't know on a friendly basis. How silly of me."

"What is it about not being able to go to a race?" asked Tofu as he went out of his office.

As Akane explained what it implied, Jotaro got an idea that made him smirk.

"Why don't you go with her, Tofu?" he asked idly. "You have the time and it would get you to do some varied exercises."

Akane was about to rebuke Jotaro for proposing that but then noticed that, to her surprise, Tofu was thinking on it seriously.

"It's true that I have nothing to do this week-end," he mused aloud. "And it would get me out for once. Okay, I'm willing to go. Unless you have someone else in mind," he said to Akane.

"N-No," stammered Akane. "I didn't know who to invite if Jotaro refused. I didn't ask you because I didn't believe it would interest you."

"Seems that you believed wrong," said Jotaro snidely. "Well, she'll fetch you here on Saturday morning if that's okay with you."

"I have nothing against that," replied Tofu. "See you Saturday, Akane."

Akane nodded numbly and followed Jotaro outside. Once they were out of Tofu's practise, she put her back on the wall and breathed deeply. She then started to blush madly and glared at Jotaro.

"What on Earth possessed you to ask something like that?" she asked hotly.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," replied Jotaro neutrally. "Besides, I dare you to tell that you think it's a bad idea. You get to spend the week-end with Tofu, after all."

This time, Jotaro's word struck home.

"Oh my God!" squeaked Akane. "I'm spending the week-end with Tofu! How am I going to manage?"

"You'll do fine," interjected Jotaro. "Just be yourself and it's going to be all right. If necessary, meditate a little before going to him."

Akane sighed and glared playfully at Jotaro.

"I'll get you for this," she said in false anger.

"I wonder what you could do, I already have a girlfriend," countered Jotaro. "Maybe if you presented her naked and tied up to me it could be a good form of revenge."

Akane swatted his head but was avoided easily.

* * *

Michiru's father didn't know what to think. On the one hand, he was proud that his daughter was going to go to a party attended by students at least four years older than her and that she was going to be the queen given who her escort was.

On the other hand her outfit was scandalous.

She was wearing a dark blue Chinese cheongsam, a dress that reached the bottom of her knees and was slitted up to above the hip, revealing the hem of very frilly black panties and black stockings with a black garter belt. It also was sleeveless, leaving Michiru's shoulders bare and revealing quite a bit of cleavage, leaving one to wonder whether Michiru actually had a bra or not. Michiru also wore red stilettos that made her look taller than she was and emphasized the length of her legs, an emerald dolphin-shaped pendant that attracted the attention on her non-negligible cleavage, had her hair in undulated locks with a white kerchief and wore make-up that gave her a tantalizing face with the black eye-liner and the blood-red lipstick. All in all, she looked extremely attractive and even downright sexy. That was what was bothering Ryuuji.

"Are you sure you are going out like that?" he whined. Michiru would have answered but her mother beat her to it.

"For the last time, Ryuuji, yes," she sighed. "Michiru looks too good right now not to go out. I still wonder where you got this dress, dear."

"Jotaro gave it to me," replied Michiru. "The necklace too, for that matter. And the underwear."

"He offered you this frilly black thong?" asked her mother surprised. "How bold!"

"A thong?" said Ryuuji while paling. The idea of her daughter out there in a thong that could be seen gave him cold sweats.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Michiru jumped and rushed to the door giddily, followed at a more sedate pace by her parents. She opened the door.

Jotaro was standing in front of the door, tall and proud. Well, at least as tall as Ranma's medium stature allowed him, but he sure looked proud. He wore his trademark cap and trenchcoat but there seemed to be a few more ornaments on them from what Michiru remembered. He was wearing a tuxedo that was obviously tailor-made under his trenchcoat and had his hair wild and seemingly unkempt. He was holding flowers in his hands and a bottle of alcohol. All in all, he looked dashing. He looked at Michiru for a second before shaking his head and looking back at her intently. She looked stunning.

"I knew you would look good but I didn't realise how much," he said to Michiru without preamble. He then gave her the flowers. "This is for you. And this is for your parents," he added while giving the bottle to a flabbergasted Ryuuji.

"Thank you," replied a much more aware Midori as she took the flowers from Michiru. "I expect her to be back home come the morning. We won't be here tonight, so you can bring back a few friends if you want."

"We will, don't worry," replied Jotaro.

And without waiting he took Michiru in his arms bridal-style and jumped away, leaving two flummoxed parents. Ryuuji looked at the bottle and his eyes boggled when he saw that it was some forty year old whiskey. He looked at his wife with wide eyes and showed her the bottle.

"Why do I get the feeling the despite belonging in the upper part of society this young man is out of our league?" he asked his wife rhetorically.

"Probably because he is," replied Midori drolly.

Meanwhile, Michiru was trying to distract Jotaro by kissing him and fondling him for all it was worth. Jotaro didn't lose his countenance though and gave back as good as he got.

* * *

Jotaro arrived with Michiru near Motoki, Reika and one of Motoki's friends that Jotaro knew as Mamoru Chiba. Their arrival caused quite a shock among the nearby students. Motoki sighed amusedly when he saw him.

"You couldn't be less conspicuous, could you?" he asked with a smirk.

"If you've got it, flaunt it. That was Giorno's motto," replied Jotaro with a straight face.

"And boy, do you have it," said Mamoru with admiration. "Not only are you the king but you probably have the hottest date here."

"Isn't she only fourteen?" asked Reika who knew Michiru from what Jotaro had told to Motoki.

"You're pulling my leg," said Mamoru flatly before turning to Michiru. "There's no way you are fourteen. No fourteen years old is that stunning."

"But I am," smiled Michiru before holding her hand for Mamoru to kiss. "Michiru Kaioh, age fourteen and partner to Jotaro Kujo."

Mamoru looked shocked for a few seconds before regaining his bearings and kissing Michiru's hand.

"Mamoru Chiba," he said simply. "Age eighteen and Motoki's friend."

"Good, now we know each other," she said happily. And kissed him on the cheek with familiarity.

"Don't worry," replied Motoki to the now surprised Mamoru while Jotaro smirked. "She did this strange ritual with us too. It's something she likes to do to pretend to be a princess."

"Oh," said Mamoru with all the eloquence he could muster.

Michiru kissed Motoki and Reika. Mamoru got his bearings back.

"You know you're going to be a riot," said Motoki to Jotaro.

"You told me already," replied Jotaro. "So be it. By the way, once the party is finished, we are all invited at Michiru's house."

"Good to know," said Reika. "Let's go and introduce this cute couple."

She took Michiru by the shoulder while Motoki and Mamoru flanked Jotaro.

"Let's rock," said Motoki, reminiscing Michiru of the way Jotaro said it.

* * *

"Mamoru Chiba came without a partner!" said the speaker who announced the arrivals. "Ladies, there's a heart to win tonight!"

Mamoru twitched at that presentation. Did the speaker really have to say that?

"Next come Motoki Furuhata and Reika Nishimura," said the speaker with much enthusiasm. "Damn, they make a cute couple and have broken more than one heart when they got together."

Motoki and Reika entered, eager for what would follow. It would be quite a sight.

"And next come Motoki's sponsored student and his partner," said the speaker while reading the paper Motoki had just given to him. "He is the best student of the nation in his grade and his name is... wait... that can't be true!"

"Oh but it is!" shouted Motoki. "Introduce them already." The speaker gulped.

"His name is Jotaro Kujo, age sixteen, known in Juuban as the Yakuza Slayer," said the bewildered speaker as the room went silent. "And his partner is the next violin prodigy and known heart breaker despite her young age, Michiru Kaioh, age fourteen."

The room went wild in rumours and excitement, everyone wanting to see the Yakuza Slayer and the most desired maiden of Juuban with their own eyes. It was a good thing their names came last, else nobody would have paid attention to those who would have followed.

Jotaro and Michiru kept close to Motoki, Reika and Mamoru, occasionally answering curtly to a question or two from various people. They had to greet nearly everybody and sacrificed to the obligation, Jotaro holding Michiru's hip possessively all the time. Soon came the time to dance and a wide berth was made for Jotaro and Michiru. The two used it at its fullest and whirled around with the dances, impressing more than a few people. They seemed totally absorbed within one another and made a very romantic sight for everyone. There were then conversation rings and even a poker ring. Jotaro and Michiru joined it, Michiru playing and Jotaro muttering counsels in her ear. The other players thought it would be easy to win against a girl. Ten rounds later, they conceded the final round to her, as she had bet without even looking at her cards. She had the supreme advantage, and Jotaro had used some of his bluffing tricks on her, like making a glass of juice appear near her. The others had believed that she was so good at cheating that they had no chance against her and had let her win. When she revealed that she just had a pair of fours, they nearly fell off their chairs. When Jotaro said that he had several times won with less, they eyed both of them with respect.

When it came to electing the couple of the night, Jotaro and Michiru won hand down. They came on the scene to claim their prize and Jotaro carried Michiru on his shoulder in a display of strength that surprised everybody save Motoki.

When the party finished at midnight, nearly everybody came to say goodbye to Jotaro, Michiru, Motoki, Reika and Mamoru. It sure had been a boost for Motoki's popularity to sponsor Jotaro. Reika and Mamoru were profiting of it too. There was one fight among students in the yard but Jotaro defused it by literally appearing between the students, blocking their blows and eyeing them with a terrifying gaze. They scampered away. No fight occurred after that.

The group made its way at Michiru's home, which was indeed void of presence. The group made its way in the living-room. Jotaro got a few bottle of alcohol from... somewhere, much to the group's delight, and they started to drink and discuss. Jotaro, Mamoru and Reika talked about medicine. Michiru, and Motoki talked about sex (especially with Jotaro) before being joined by Reika and Jotaro. When they noticed that Mamoru was trying to keep away from the conversation, they did their hardest to get him into it and, with the help of a few drinks, managed to learn about his preferences. Jotaro reassured him by saying that loving someone younger than you wasn't a crime per se and that he should just bide his time a little (Mamoru had his sights on a twelve year old blonde girl with odangos in her hair he had seen in Juuban). They then spoke about music, studies, martial arts, cooking and a lot of other subjects. When it was three in the morning, they decided to call it a night and Michiru guided them to their rooms. Jotaro waited for her in her room. When she came back, he had taken off his cap and trenchcoat and was waiting for her in his tuxedo.

"Why are you still clothed?" asked Michiru teasingly.

"I thought you would prefer it if you were the one to take off my clothes," answered Jotaro while raising an eyebrow.

Michiru thought about it for a second before nodding and walked sexily towards him. None of them remained clothed for long, except for Michiru who kept her stockings and garter belt throughout the night, much to Jotaro's delight.

* * *

The next morning, Jotaro was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for all of the guests and Michiru. He then went to wake up everyone, waking up Michiru last. He then went back to the kitchen and finished preparing breakfast. Motoki and Reika came in bathrobes, followed by Mamoru who had put back his clothes, minus his jacket. They came and sat at the table.

"Jotaro's breakfast," stated Motoki. "It has so many different influences that you don't know what to start with."

"It's impressive for sure," admitted Reika with a smile. She then looked around. "Where is Michiru?"

"She should be here soon," replied Jotaro. "Like now."

Michiru entered the room, eliciting several different reactions.

Motoki stared and grinned impishly.

Mamoru stared with boggled eyes and held his nose.

Reika stared and blushed.

Jotaro stared and sighed.

"Michiru," he said. "You might want to wear something less revealing."

Michiru stared at him uncomprehendingly before looking down at her form and noticing that she was wearing the translucent negligee Jotaro had given to her after their first time. She then looked at Motoki, Reika and Mamoru with wide eyes before squeaking and rushing back to her bedroom. She came back a few minutes later, fully clothed and noticeably red.

"You had such a good night that you forgot that you weren't alone, didn't you?" said Motoki with a small smile.

"You should know better than most that Jotaro has that effect," countered Michiru hotly.

"That he has," confirmed Motoki. "Although Reika isn't bad in this field either." Reika just blushed. She was a pervert, all right, but she was no exhibitionist.

"Isn't it quite unethical that I actually wonder what they exactly did?" wondered Mamoru aloud.

Michiru turned to him and saw an opportunity to tease.

"Why, you just have to ask, Mamoru," she said sultrily.

Motoki's smile grew, Reika's blush reddened, Mamoru's eyes widened and Jotaro's eyebrow twitched.

Michiru then explained to him what had happened during the night with a luxury of details that Mamoru would have liked to avoid. He wasn't exactly a prude but to his mind Michiru was an extremely perverted girl.

Michiru had a satisfied smirk as she saw Mamoru trying to hold back his nosebleed. Then she noticed that Reika blushed harder than before, which was normal, and that Motoki's grin was threatening to split his face, which was less normal. She then finally looked at Jotaro and noticed that he had his face in his hand. That wasn't normal.

"What's wrong, Jotaro?" she asked concerned.

Jotaro lifted his head and his eyes bore into hers. There was a mixture of amusement, shame and a bit of exasperation.

"You might have wanted to avoid saying such things in the presence of certain people," he stated.

"Who would be shocked?" replied Michiru amused. "Except for Mamoru and Reika, that is."

Jotaro wordlessly pointed behind her. Michiru turned and her brain froze. She then went red in frightening proportion and felt like crawling under a rock and dying there out of shame. Her parents were standing there. Her mother looked definitely amused, although a bit red, and her father was twitching. He was the first to speak.

"I need a drink," he simply said.

Motoki couldn't take it anymore and collapsed in laughter. Jotaro got his flask from Doorspace, poured whiskey in a glass and got some ice in the freezer. He then presented it to Ryuuji who drank it as soon as it touched his hand. Michiru was still bright red.

"I don't think there's any way you would forget what I said?" she asked meekly.

"As much as I want to, I don't think I'll be able to," said Ryuuji as he sat down at the table. "And boy, do I wish I could forget it."

"Well, dear," started Midori, "It's not as if we were less perverted in our time. Why, I remember this time in Juuban's park when we..."

"GYAH!" interrupted Michiru while putting her hands on her ears. "I don't need to hear that!"

"I don't see why not," said Jotaro neutrally. "You did describe our own perversions to them, why couldn't they do the same?"

Michiru whirled towards Jotaro and glared at him.

"And you!" she snarled. "Why didn't you tell me that they were here?"

"I tried," Jotaro defended himself. "But you didn't listen. It's not from a lack of trying on my part that you detailed everything."

"I can swear as a witness that it is true," said Motoki who had finally stopped laughing. "Jotaro made signs for you to stop but you didn't listen. All that just to impress our prude Mamoru."

And he laughed again. Reika followed, soon followed herself by Midori and Mamoru. Ryuuji drank another glass of whiskey before laughing too. Jotaro just smirked at Michiru, who finally surrendered and laughed herself. She could admit that it had been funny. Now, if only she hadn't been the butt of the joke...

* * *

From what Jotaro now heard, Akane's and Tofu's race at Zekkyo hadn't been a piece of cake. The staff had placed several dangerous traps and had tried to prevent them from winning by making the arrival line flee from them. However, they had been had when Ryoga's ability to get lost had put him and Ukyo into the line, making them the de facto winners. Akane and Tofu had been a bit disappointed given the hardships they had had to endure but had been fair and had thus left the prize to Ryoga and Ukyo. Ryoga had been ecstatic and had suggested Jusenkyo, much to Akane's confusion. Why would he want to go there given how dangerous it was? However, Ukyo had been okay with it, if only to sell her okonomiyakis in a place where people didn't ask her if she did so naked. She had yet to be able to take this damn painting off.

"So we didn't win but we still had one hell of a week-end," finished Akane. "It was quite fun and I learned to interact with Doctor Tofu without blushing. How was your week-end by the way?"

"Not as hectic as yours," replied Jotaro. "But it sure was fun, maybe even funnier than yours."

And he told her about what had occurred during said week-end, including Michiru's blunder. Akane's reaction was predictable.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed.

Jotaro let her. It had been damn funny after all.

* * *

A.N: I tried to emulate my favourite battle in Season 3, the one with D'Arby the Gambler. I'm not entirely satisfied with it but then again Mr King doesn't have D'arby's ruthlessness, so it probably isn't as climatic as it could be. Still, it was too good an opportunity to pass on. As for the party, I had no satisfying way to include the race at Zekkyo and I was bored. When I stopped typing, I already had that part so I let it.

Next time, Picolet Chardin. A character I don't appreciate much, if only because he ridicules the French.


	18. Dark Chest Of Wonders

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XVII) Dark Chest Of Wonders

There was a strange man in Furinkan high, tall, blond and wearing a white suit with a red bow. He was standing almost regal. Jotaro noticed from his features that he had European origins, French if he was right. The man whirled around in Furinkan's yard and everyone's sandwiches and bentos disappeared at a speed that defied logic. Only Jotaro saw what had occurred but it was extremely disturbing. The man finally stopped in front of Akane and visibly tried to eat Jotaro's bento but Jotaro was faster and put it away. The man stopped what he was doing and glared at him, but with a hint of respect. He then produced a sheet and put a real feast on it, composed exclusively of French dishes. Akane stared at it before realising that she had been joined by Nabiki and, strangely enough, Kasumi.

"What are you doing here?" asked Akane to her sisters.

"I was told to come by this guy," answered Nabiki.

"I received an invitation that told me to come here," replied Kasumi. "I wonder who it is from."

"It is from me," replied the blonde. "I am Picolet Chardin, heir of the martial arts dining school "La Belle France". I came here to meet the one who may be my future bride."

The three sisters went still at that. Jotaro had no such compulsion.

"Let me guess," he said to Picolet. "Their father owed you money for something he had eaten and he promised one of his girls in marriage to you."

"That's the gist of it," replied Picolet. "And who might you be?"

"Jotaro Kujo, the Yakuza Slayer," replied Jotaro before pointing at Akane. "I'm also one of Akane's senseis in martial arts and one of her bosses at work."

"Working and practising martial arts?" said Picolet distastefully. "Such things are not fitting of one who might latter be my bride."

"Shove it," growled Akane. "There's no way I'll quit my work and martial arts just because a little upstart like you decided so."

"That won't do," replied Picolet stubbornly. "She has to stop it."

"How about a little bet?" asked Jotaro neutrally but with what Akane recognized as a hint of playfulness.

"What kind of bet?" asked Picolet back.

"I challenge you to a martial arts dining match," stated Jotaro. "Should I win, you forget about trying to dictate Akane's life and making her your wife. Should I lose, she'll be your bride."

"I'd feel upset if it was anyone but you betting my marriage like that, Jotaro," said Akane flatly. "You're lucky I know you."

"Why are you letting him do this Akane?" asked Nabiki a bit surprised.

"Because he'll win," replied Akane with finality. "I know he will. Plus, he feels playful."

Nabiki eyed her curious.

"How can you tell?" she asked. It was far from obvious to her.

"I just do," retorted Akane. "It might come from the observation skills Jotaro drilled into me. It's extremely useful to distract opponents by pointing out their little quirks."

"Fine, I accept," replied Picolet. "As you know, half the plates on the table are mine and half of them are yours. The first one to finish his plates wins."

"I didn't know that," replied Jotaro. "Thanks for explaining the rules to me."

Picolet smiled. This peasant didn't even know the rules of martial arts culinary fight. This would be an easy victory. Kasumi was worried.

"Are you sure he'll win, Akane?" she asked with a frown. "He didn't even know the rules."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you," answered Akane. "Jotaro is awesome like that."

The match began. Plates started to disappear from Picolet's part of the table. He was really a master at his art. He figured that with his speed he would soon win.

However, he hadn't counted on Jotaro using the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken with vital energy coupled with the use of the Hidden Weapons technique to hide the food. Jotaro's side was cleared in a heartbeat and Jotaro started to lazily eat some Foie Gras from Picolet's side. Picolet opened eyes wide as saucers and let his mouth gape, which revealed that said mouth could extend to ridiculous levels, covering about one square metre. He then made a grimace that revealed that said mouth could be twisted in a long tube, which finished disgusting everyone who saw him, including the Tendo sisters.

"How? How did you eat these so fast?" he said stupefied. "I'm the best of my family in martial arts culinary arts, there's no way you could have beaten me!"

"You just never fought against someone like me," countered Jotaro. "This means that I win and Akane shan't be your bride."

"Told you he would win," said Akane smugly to her sisters.

"Well, you have to pay for what you ate..." started Picolet.

"I don't think so," interrupted Jotaro. "The price of the meal wasn't included in the challenge. And even if it had been, since you're the one who lost, you would have to pay for it. Take what you still have and go away."

Picolet's shoulders slumped in defeat before he brightened.

"Well at least I have two lovely ladies to choose from for my future bride," he said gaily before taking his things and getting up, ready to go. "I'll see you later at your home."

Nabiki and Kasumi froze at that while Picolet went away. They then turned to Jotaro with anger in their eyes.

"Couldn't you have done anything against that?" snapped Nabiki at Jotaro.

"Why should I have?" countered Jotaro. "You're not my responsibility. It's your problem, not mine. Besides, you wouldn't have let me wager your marriages, you don't trust me like Akane does. Of course, now that he knows what I'm capable of, he'll refuse any challenge from me and he would be right to do so. Lastly, the one who engaged you to this strange blonde is your father. Shouldn't you be angry at him instead of me?"

Nabiki prepared to answer, then closed her mouth. She loathed admitting it but everything that Jotaro had said was true. She sighed and took Kasumi's hand, intent on having a little chat with their father.

Jotaro looked at Akane.

"Let's follow them," he proposed. "At the very least, it's doomed to be entertaining."

Akane nodded and followed him.

* * *

Soun was looking ready to break down. Genma was looking wary. It wasn't that he was scared of Kasumi and Nabiki (although, if he was honest with himself, he was) but Jotaro was there with Akane. Those two now scared the hell out of him. Soun explained with tears-filled eyes how he and Genma, being starved, had found Picolet's father's restaurant, had defied him in martial arts culinary fight for a meal, had lost and had thus promised that one of their daughters would be engaged to Chardin's son Picolet. It wasn't a problem for Genma seeing as he had no daughters but for Soun, or more precisely for his daughters, this was a big problem. When Soun wailed that he hadn't thought he would ever have daughters, his daughters bristled more and tore into him. The bell rang at that moment. Soun became frantic. He didn't want his daughters engaged to someone he didn't even know (he didn't seem to realise that it had also been the case with Ranma) and was ready to do anything to prevent that.

"Anything? Really?" asked Jotaro.

Soun nodded hesitantly, feeling like he had done a deal with the devil.

"Even giving me a copy of your family's scroll and sealed techniques?" asked Jotaro pointedly.

Soun gulped as if he had swallowed a very sour lemon then nodded firmly. Jotaro smirked.

"It's a good thing, you know," he said while grabbing a glass and filling it with water. "You're not nearly enough in good shape to teach them to Akane."

Soun sighed and nodded. He went up in his room to fetch a pile of scrolls and brought them down. By the time he did this, Jotaro was in her female form. Soun eyed her inquisitively. Jotaro took the scrolls from his hands and put them... somewhere. He then turned to Akane and looked at her intently.

"Your training is going to be more intense, Akane," he stated. "I'm going to grind you into the ground until you learn them."

Akane's sister looked a bit worried at Jotaro's sadistic smile. Then they turned to Akane and became even more worried. Akane had a feral and eager smile on her lips. Soun didn't notice it and eyed Jotaro wonderingly.

"How are you going to get us out of this engagement?" he asked Jotaro. "For that matter, why in your female form?"

"I'm going to pass as the daughter you disowned and challenge him into a fight to get your family out of this mess," stated Jotaro.

"But why in your female form?" asked Soun.

"Because Jotaro already beat him in his male form," answered Akane. "So this guy would accept a challenge from him."

Jotaro decided to open the door at that moment. Picolet Chardin was here. He eyed her a bit curious.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Jotaro Tendo," replied Jotaro with a straight face. "I'm Soun Tendo's daughter but he doesn't like me, so I'm not here often since I'm sort of the black sheep of our family. Who are you and what can I do for you?"

Picolet looked at her expectantly.

"I'm here to claim my bride among the Tendo daughters, except Akane here," stated Picolet. "I have to choose between you, Kasumi and Nabiki."

"No can do," replied Jotaro, surprising him. "I have another proposition for you. I'm challenging you to a fight of your choosing. Should you win, you get to marry me. However, should I win, you forget this whole bride thing with the Tendo family and leave my sisters alone."

Picolet wondered what she was on to, then shrugged and decided to accept. She was beautiful enough and he would obviously win the challenge if he chose martial arts culinary fight.

"I agree," he said. "You will come at my house for a week before the challenge since we have to teach you the rules of martial arts culinary fight. We will fight using it."

"Fine with me," replied Jotaro. "Lead the way."

Picolet nodded and led Jotaro away. Jotaro turned to Akane.

"You can see me in a few days," he said. "I'll tell you where. Your training will start by then. Bring Happosai with you."

Akane nodded and Jotaro followed Picolet.

* * *

The manor was impressive for sure, Jotaro had to admit it. It was about two hundred metres long and Jotaro deduced that it was housing about a hundred rooms. However, it didn't impress Jotaro all that much. Joseph Joestar had had a wider house than that, after all. Picolet picked up on her lack of awe and asked her why.

"I have seen better, wider, more impressive," she said. "Why would I be impressed by this? Besides, it seriously looks like you're overcompensating for something. Is there anything you might want to tell me?"

Picolet looked a bit shocked at that but recovered his countenance. He found a trail of cup-cakes and presented it to Jotaro.

"Here is something to eat," he said.

Jotaro nodded and took one in her hand. At that moment, an old woman with a strange hairdo (it looked like a cooked chicken) struck her, or at least tried. Jotaro deflected the hit but she didn't notice it. She looked extremely stern and eyed Jotaro with a scowl.

"Don't show the act of eating young lady!" she snapped. "I am Madame Saint-Paul, and I will be in charge of your education in martial arts culinary fight and manners."

"I can behave just fine," countered Jotaro. "I just choose when to and frankly you don't seem worth it."

Madame Saint-Paul started to smoulder. Picolet looked worried at her.

"You should listen to her," he said. "You are to be my bride, after all."

"Only if you win the challenge," Jotaro shot back. "Which reminds me, you still have to teach me the rules."

Madame Saint-Paul looked apoplectic at the news. Picolet explained the rules nervously. Jotaro looked unimpressed.

"That's all?" she said drolly. "You should have told me sooner, I'd have called the challenge for today since I'm most certainly going to win."

Picolet eyed her dumbly.

"There's no way you can win," he stated confidently. "I'm the undisputed master of martial arts culinary fight."

"Because you never fought against me, obviously," countered Jotaro.

She then used a Time Stop and grabbed all the cup-cakes before putting them in Doorspace. She then took one of them and put it in her mouth before munching on it and releasing the Time Stop. Picolet and Madame Saint-Paul looked dumbstruck at Jotaro who was munching calmly on what was obviously the last remaining cup-cake.

"It's impossible," said Picolet with a trembling voice. "Only one person is that fast..."

"You mean Jotaro Kujo?" said Jotaro rhetorically. "I am faster than him. It's normal since I taught him everything he knows. I don't want to seem pessimistic, lover-boy, but I don't think you are getting married any time soon. Where is my room?"

Madame Saint-Paul took her dumbly and led her. Just before she went out of the room, she sent a glare at Picolet that told him that they would have words over his foolish eagerness and imprudence.

* * *

"You have to wear this," said Madame Saint-Paul to Jotaro as she held a steel corset in front of her.

"Okay," said Jotaro simply. "It's a bit kinky but I've wore things that were kinkier than that. Just tell lover-boy that it doesn't mean that he has any chance with me."

Jotaro then shed her clothes, appearing naked in front of the old lady without shame and put the corset. She then put some of her own stockings and garter belt before putting the rest of her clothes back on.

"Not so fast, young lady," said Madame Saint-Paul while holding a stuffy dress. "You have to wear this dress for the party tonight."

"No," replied Jotaro simply. Madame Saint-Paul looked at her a bit strangely.

"No? What do you mean no?" she said irritatingly. "Young lady, I don't think you realise it but tonight we are receiving the whole Chardin family. There is no way I am letting you wear garments like those you are wearing."

"There is one thing you don't understand, old lady," replied Jotaro. "I am in no way under your authority. I do what I want. And I don't want to wear such a ridiculous dress. So I'm wearing what I want."

"I don't think so, young lady," frowned Madame Saint-Paul while she got nearer with the dress. "You will wear this."

Jotaro's fist suddenly lashed out and crashed against the nearby wall. Said wall became ornate with a crater before a large part of it collapsed under Madame Saint-Paul's horrified gaze. Jotaro eyed her with steel in her eyes while she took back her fist.

"That wasn't a request, old woman," she said threateningly.

Madame Saint-Paul looked at her while sweating before putting the dress away and going out with her imposing posture as if nothing was wrong. However, it was obvious to both of them that Jotaro had won the battle of will.

"I'll fetch you for dinner," said Madame Saint-Paul with a defeated voice.

Jotaro nodded to her as she went away. She then took the scrolls Soun had given to her and started to read them. Within fifteen minutes she had read them and within two hours she had mastered the katas and techniques that were on them, including the forbidden ones. Now all she had to do was determine how to teach them to Akane, who would have a hard time with some of them.

* * *

The dinner with Picolet's family had been interesting to say the least. Jotaro had created the surprise by going to it with a scandalously revealing dress and her trademark trenchcoat and cap. It had shocked the family quite a bit but not as much as Jotaro's skill. When she had noticed that Picolet's family were all using martial arts culinary fight to eat the plates she had stopped time and stolen all the plates, leaving them starving while she ate some of what she had stolen. The family had been scared of her and it had been difficult to know whether they were disappointed to know that such a fearsome fighter would win her way out of marriage or relieved that such a fearsome fighter wouldn't be in the family to starve them at each party.

While she was waiting in her bedroom, Jotaro noticed a presence she knew and waited for it to manifest. A few minutes later, Akane came, wearing a maid's dress and looking at Jotaro expectantly.

"You managed to get here without being spotted," said Jotaro. "You're getting better at stealth. Which is good for your mastery over your emotions. It's good. You might learn what your father should have taught you faster than I expected."

Akane took a second to bask into the praises she was receiving before remembering why she had come.

"Why did you call me here?" she asked. "You don't need help to get out of here. I wouldn't believe you if that were the case."

"I don't need help," replied Jotaro. "I called you here to hold my part of the deal with your father."

"But your fight is in a week," objected Akane.

"The other part," countered Jotaro. "The part about me training you in your family's techniques, including the forbidden ones."

Akane perked up at that.

"When do we start?" she asked.

"Now," answered Jotaro.

Akane just smiled.

"By the way," asked Jotaro, "where is Happosai?"

"I don't know," retorted Akane truthfully. "But I heard cries of outrage on my way here."

"Should have guessed," added Jotaro with a small smile.

* * *

Jotaro spent the week training Akane in the Tendo techniques. She had most of them down but it would take some time before she got the forbidden techniques right. They were forbidden for a reason, after all. They consisted in a series of counters that constituted an ultimate defence made of ki that could defeat even bullets and explosions and caused damage to any close-quarter opponent. Jotaro had showed her the effects it had and it had impressed her. She had also learned that her father had never learned the techniques and thus had another reason to master them.

At the end of the week, Jotaro was ready to take Picolet Chardin down a peg. She had observed his techniques and noticed that her grandfather and Josuke could have emulated them with Hamon. Hamon could indeed be used to render parts of the body elastic and to dislocate joints safely. She hadn't seen the use of mastering the technique. For one, she didn't know Hamon. Besides, she had no use for the Chardin style as fast as she was. She also heard of a counter for their style called Foie Gras technique. After perusing Happosai's notes, she had finally determined how it exactly worked and had realised that she knew how to perform it since it implied sending the food in the opponent's mouth for them to eat. She had thus not bothered herself with it too much, just letting Picolet know about it to scare him.

The fight had been downright disappointing for her. Picolet had trained to counter the Foie Gras technique. However, since Jotaro primarily used his speed techniques, it had all been for naught. Jotaro had beaten him easily. Picolet had thus had to renounce to marry a Tendo girl, which actually didn't leave him with any other potential bride. His physical peculiarities and familial idiosyncrasies didn't endear him to women. This engagement with the Tendos had been his only real chance to get a wife and he had blown it spectacularly by putting his pride on the line. When Jotaro left with Akane, Picolet was busy being chewed out by Madame Saint-Paul for his foolishness.

Once they were back at the Tendos, Jotaro fetched the scrolls Soun had given her and gave them back to him. He caught them dumbly.

"What is this for?" he asked. "I thought you wanted them?"

"I already memorized and copied them," replied Jotaro. "So I don't need the originals anymore. You'll be glad to know that Akane has learned nearly anything in there. The forbidden techniques will take a bit more time but she should know them soon enough."

"What!" exclaimed Soun. "I don't even know them!"

"Doesn't matter," stated Jotaro. "Akane knows them, and that's all that matters. I'll be going now."

She prepared to go away. She found Genma in her way though.

"Not so fast, boy," he said pompously.

Jotaro ignored him and pushed him away without difficulty, much to Genma's ire.

"I told you to wait, boy!" he shouted while grabbing Jotaro's shoulder.

That was a mistake that he would come to regret. Jotaro grabbed his arm back and threw him on the ground. Genma grunted in shock and pain as he was embedded in the floor. Jotaro eyed him with disdain in her eyes. Akane attracted Jotaro's attention right there.

"What?" asked Jotaro to Akane. It was such an obvious dismissal of Genma that said man growled.

"I think he wants to talk to you," said Akane neutrally while pointing at Genma.

"Then why hasn't he said so?" replied Jotaro. "He just called a "boy". I certainly don't feel concerned."

"Don't ask me why," Akane shot back. "It's not my fault he is too stupid to remember your name or your gender."

"Of course it isn't," replied Jotaro disdainfully. "You certainly aren't responsible for his moronic behaviour."

Genma growled.

"Jotaro," he finally said, humiliated at being obliged to resort to call his own flesh and blood by that name.

"You wanted to talk to me, old man?" asked Jotaro idly. Genma growled some more.

"You have to marry one of Soun's daughter to unite the schools," said the sometimes panda stubbornly.

"Won't ever happen," countered Jotaro lazily. "I don't see why you are so obstinate, especially since Soun here has forsaken the pledge."

Genma opened wide eyes and looked at Soun with disbelief.

"Soun, you didn't!" he shouted with horror.

"I had to, old friend," responded Soun sadly. "We would have lost the house and the Dojo had I not struck this deal with her... him... whatever. I had to forsake the promise between us. I won't stop you if you try to convince her but I can't do more than that."

"Bah!" snorted Genma. "Why would you follow such a promise when the future of the schools is at stake?"

"Because I swore on my daughters' heads," replied Soun with steel in his voice. "I'll die before forsaking that promise."

Genma stared at him with betrayal in his eyes. He then looked at Jotaro.

"You will marry one of Soun's daughters, boy!" he stated imperiously.

"Not a chance," countered Jotaro. "Unless you make me, that is."

"Then I'll make you!" roared Genma.

He then jumped from the ground and prepared to strike Jotaro strongly. Jotaro didn't even move. A flash was seen before Genma's fist connected and a faint light appeared on Jotaro's body. Genma's fist impacted on Jotaro's face but Jotaro still didn't move. It seemed to everyone witnessing the scene that Genma's fist flattened on a steel panel since Jotaro's face didn't even react to the punch while Genma's fist indeed flattened. It broke two phalanxes and a bone in Genma's wrist, who howled in pain. But that wasn't all.

Two spikes of ki sprouted from Jotaro's body and slithered on Genma's arm before impaling themselves in it, piercing it in four places. Genma howled some more before trying to tear his arm away but didn't manage. The spikes were effectively holding him prisoner for Jotaro. Akane looked speculative at the technique while Soun and his remaining daughters looked wide eyed at this.

"The Bush Of Thorns," said Soun with awe. "It is one of the forbidden techniques my father showed me only once! And he mastered it in less than a week."

"So that's what I will be able to do once I have learned it?" asked Akane interested.

"That and its brother, the Trigger Trap, which creates an explosion at the impact," specified Jotaro. "I'm also currently devising counters for them. They should be ready by the end of the week."

"A counter!" shouted Soun. "But that should be impossible! These techniques constitute an infallible defence. There's no way to counter them!"

"With enough mastery on one's ki, it is possible," replied Jotaro. "I'm pretty sure Happosai can devise a counter in less than a day."

Soun fell silent at that. He had always wished that his mastery of ki allowed him to learn these techniques to defeat Happosai but if the man could counter them then he was happy he hadn't suffered from the insane training to learn them at all. Which reminded him...

"Wait, Akane," he said slowly. "You're actually learning them?"

"Yes," she answered simply.

"But they are awfully difficult to learn!" said Soun with disbelief. "I didn't manage to learn them and I tried to for weeks."

"You also didn't have two ki masters to help you," stated Jotaro calmly. "And you can't manage your emotions well enough to learn them." She then turned to Genma. "Now what to do with you?"

A smile crept up her face. Genma audibly gulped. This smile scared the hell out of him. Even Happosai didn't scare him that much.

Two minutes later, Jotaro left a bloody, broken and unconscious Genma at the Tendos before going back home. Nabiki eyed the body while sighing. Kasumi sighed too. They had gotten used to such violence but the blood was always hard to wash and the hospital bills were getting bothersome. Soun sighed too. He had thought that Genma would be more intelligent than that.

A frown appeared while he was watching Akane. Akane didn't react but she had seen it and she didn't like it. Not at all.

Jotaro was meanwhile wondering what she should do with the steel corset she had gotten from the Chardin's. Maybe she could offer it to Michiru. The aquamarine-haired girl was into some pretty kinky stuff after all.

* * *

"I can't stand her anymore," said Akane to Jotaro while sighing. She was currently working at Mousse's restaurant while Jotaro did the books.

"Whom?" asked Jotaro a bit curious.

"Nabiki," answered Akane. "This girl is driving me up the wall. Yesterday, she made an indelible stain of the white vest she was sporting with soy sauce. You know how such stains don't go away."

"It's a problem, all right," admitted Jotaro. "But I don't see why it bothers you so much."

"It was my vest to begin with!" snapped Akane. Jotaro paused.

"I can see how that would bother you," stated Jotaro amiably. "But don't you think it's a bit much?"

"Like you're one to talk," snorted Akane.

"It's a bit much for you," corrected Jotaro. "So I imagine that there is something else."

"There is," replied Akane. "When she said that I could take one of her clothe in exchange, I went through her things. I found several things that I liked but I realised that they all belonged to me. Next to nothing in her closet actually belongs to her. She stole nearly half of my clothes."

"I can see how it would irritate you," said Jotaro sympathetically.

"When I told her I didn't appreciate that, she didn't even apologize," added Akane. "She just said that she had borrowed these clothes indefinitely. She obviously had no intention to give them back if I hadn't asked."

"I know why you are so upset," stated Jotaro. "I would have hurt her had I been you."

"I found some other things belonging to me in her room, like books and CDs," added Akane. "The worst part is that I would have given them for her to borrow if only she had asked. I told her that and she didn't even apologize."

"That's a bit callous of her," admitted Jotaro. He then felt silent before adding: "Want to get some payback?"

"How?" asked Akane. "I could hurt her but I don't have it in me, unlike you. I don't know what to do to get back at her."

"You could rob her of something she holds dear," said Jotaro lazily.

"And what?" asked Akane again. "The only thing she holds dear is money and she could always get more if I stole it from her."

"I was thinking of her free will," said Jotaro with a smirk.

"What?" said Akane. She was intrigued and interested.

Jotaro showed her something in his hand. Akane saw it and grinned.

* * *

The next morning, Nabiki went down for breakfast. She had been afraid that her younger sister would hurt he when she realised that she had taken so much of her things but Akane hadn't done anything but scowl when she had bluffed her way out of it. That was good. It meant she could 'borrow' things from her little sister again and again. Sure she could buy most of the things but why waste money when she could just take things from her little sister.

She saw Kasumi in the kitchen and Akane at the table with a neutral look and her usual mug of coffee. She sat without saying anything and drowned the mug of coffee. It had a sourer taste than usual and had pieces of something in it. She grimaced. Akane then made a strange gesture with her hand, managing to snap all her fingers in one go and said: "Rub your body sensuously on the nearest male."

Immediately, Nabiki felt her free will abandon her and her body act on autopilot. She went up, spotted her father who was coming down the stairs, jumped at him and rubbed herself on him, much to her horror. Soun looked at her curiously.

"Nabiki," he said calmly, "I don't mind displays of affection but this one is a bit too tendentious for my tastes. Besides, aren't you a little old to be this affectionate?"

After five seconds, Nabiki regain the use of her body and recoiled in horror. Soun eyed her inquisitively. Akane and Kasumi just smiled.

"So, Nabiki," started Akane, "how does it feel to have something you like taken from you?"

Nabiki stared at her.

"You didn't think you would get away from stealing my things did you?" asked Akane with a look telling her sister how stupid she thought such a thought was. "Revenge is a dish better served cold."

"You're behind this!" shouted Nabiki.

"Yes!" said Akane happily. She then explained the principle of the mushrooms Jotaro had given to her. Nabiki was livid by the end of the explanation.

"You did this to me!" she snarled.

"Not alone," replied Akane. "Kasumi was the one who suggested putting them in your coffee."

"Kasumi!" screamed Nabiki as she whirled darkly on Kasumi. "Why?"

"Well, little sister," said Kasumi. "It seemed like a good idea to teach you a lesson. Besides, how many times have you borrowed things from me without actually giving them back?"

"It's just a taste of your own medicine," stated Akane. "Sour isn't it? Now you understand better how it feels to have something taken from you without consent."

Nabiki eyed her with horror filled eyes. She then thought fast and found an idea.

"Well, Daddy," she said sweetly. "I'm not going to school."

"I don't think so, young lady," replied Soun sternly. "You are going to school today."

Nabiki almost fell on the ground in shock. Her father had never done anything against her like that.

"What!" she shouted. "You can't do this to me, Daddy."

"Well it pains me slightly to do that," admitted Soun, which actually rose up Nabiki's hopes. "But you did bring this on yourself."

"So suck it up and take it like an adult," said Akane with a singsong voice. "Just so you know, Kasumi threatened to serve him my cooking. Blackmail isn't so great when it's used against you isn't it?"

Nabiki looked at her with fear, then rushed to take her bag without even taking breakfast. Before she managed to exit, Akane snapped her fingers again and, to her horror, Nabiki rubbed herself against Genma who had come back from the hospital the day before.

"What are you doing girl?" said Genma flatly. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you're horny and want me to do you."

With Genma's words, Nabiki realised exactly what she looked like when she did that and shivered mightily. She then eyed the now smirking Akane with fear in her eyes.

"Just so you know," said Akane. "This will last all the day. Learn your lesson well."

And with that, she went to prepare herself. Nabiki eyed Kasumi with a hurt look.

"How could you do this to me?" she screamed at her. Kasumi sent her one of her oblivious smiles but with a hint of malevolence.

"Sorry for that, Nabiki," she apologized, "but Daddy is right. You did bring this on yourself."

Nabiki shivered under the gaze and rushed to school. She had always thought that Kasumi was too nice to be human. She had been right. There was something vicious and dark in her elder sister. She should be able to avoid Akane for most of the day. She prayed that Akane didn't seek her too actively.

* * *

Nabiki arrived at school and rushed into her classroom. She would be free of Akane here.

"You don't seem too well today, Tendo," said a feminine voice that made her insides turn cold.

She turned around and noticed that Jotaro had arrived. She was in her female form. Nabiki remembered that Akane came often to see Jotaro during recess and cursed. She would have to be careful and escape before Akane came.

Then she heard a snap. She turned her head in horror at Jotaro and saw that she had her hand ready in front of her in the God-forsaken position. She then remembered that Jotaro had the unfortunate habit of making this weird snapping noise at the oddest times. She had the time to curse before she dashed at the nearest student to rub herself against him quite sensuously under most students' gazes. She cursed more as she noticed that it was Kuno she was rubbing against. Kuno had come to proclaim his love for Jotaro and was effectively stopped by what was impossible to compute. That the vile mercenary Tendo was obviously lusting after him was too much for him to process. He cursed loudly at his manliness before fainting in the classroom. The students started what they were the best at doing: rumours.

"Did you see how Nabiki jumped Kuno?" asked one.

"It was always suspect how she is often near him," added another.

"She could do better," stated a third. "Nobody will take the Ice Queen seriously now."

Nabiki wanted to find a hole and crawl up under it. She then saw Jotaro who was eyeing her with a smirk.

"Don't do that again!" she screamed at Jotaro.

"What?" she asked her.

"This snapping noise with your hand," she gritted through her teeth so as not to be heard.

"You mean this noise?" said Jotaro loudly before making the damned noise.

Nabiki cursed before rubbing herself against a nearby student. She then eyed Jotaro murderously.

"Yes, that noise," she snarled. "Don't do this again!"

"No way!" stated Jotaro as Nabiki's face fell. "This is too much fun." Her voice then boomed. "Hey everybody! When you do this noise," she did the snap and Nabiki went away to rub herself against a student while cursing, "Nabiki can't help but rub herself, rather sensuously I might add, against the nearest male."

Nabiki looked at him with horror. He had told everyone the trigger for the God-forsaken order. She noticed the sadistic smirk and something else that terrified him coming from Jotaro's eyes: malevolent satisfaction. She then noticed with a shiver that this attitude was present in her classmates' eyes.

This started Nabiki's nightmarish day. Every few minutes, a student (or Jotaro or her sister) would do the noise and she would rub herself against the nearest male. The teachers all thought that it was a practical joke (or took a sadistic pleasure in seeing the Ice Queen taken down a peg) and refused to allow her to go to the infirmary, even when she rubbed herself against them. Nearly all the male students endured her assaults with smiles. The worst was when a girl did this noise while she was on the toilet. She went to find the nearest male to rub against while her skirt and panties were down. She didn't think her reputation would survive that. She came home weary and on the verge of tears.

She saw Akane with a small smile. When she went and froze. Tears sprouted from her eyes.

"Now you understand why I don't like being robbed?" said Akane evenly.

Nabiki nodded shamefully. She even had to suffer from the God-forsaken noise while on the way home and had jumped several men old enough to be her father. She was at wits end.

"Good," said Akane with a smile. "The effect should dissipate... now. Remember that I still have more of these mushrooms and that I could make you do something more embarrassing the next time you 'borrow' something from me without asking before."

Nabiki nodded while still crying and fled to her room. Kasumi turned to her sister.

"It was a bit much to tell her whole classroom Akane," she said with a frown.

"I agree with your sister," said Soun with a matching frown. "You had no right to do that."

"I didn't tell Jotaro," countered Akane. "He knows of these mushrooms and found the trigger by himself before telling the whole class. Besides," she added with a snarl, "it was hurtful to her but necessary to teach her that lesson. Maybe if you had been good parents and sister I wouldn't have had to resort to that."

Kasumi and Soun had nothing to object to that and bowed their head down. Akane snorted.

"The guilt trip doesn't work on me," she said with finality. "Keep in mind that I've yet to get revenge on you for all the shit you did to me or didn't do for me."

With that she left the now fearful Tendos and went to work. Soun, on the other hand, was frowning too. Akane was becoming too independent for his tastes.

* * *

"I still feel a bit bad for the time she did it half naked," said Akane to Jotaro and Mousse as they spoke about what she had done to Nabiki."

"Well," said Mousse, "the way I see it and from what I know of her, she wouldn't have had to undergo something that humiliating if people didn't despise her that much. So she obviously did something to these people to get such petty revenge from them. So in a sense, she got what she deserved."

"That's what I thought too," said Jotaro. "You can blame yourself for giving the mushroom to her and myself for revealing the trigger to everybody but ultimately the other people are responsible for her humiliation. It will at least show her what people really thought of her in a way that will leave its trace on her. Maybe she'll be more mindful of other people now."

"Or maybe she will hate them all," pointed out Akane. "Well, what's done is done."

"In our defence," stated Jotaro, "both of us never thought it would go that far. She has a big part in the way people consider her."

Akane nodded. Happosai chose this moment to come back, laughing wildly and making everyone turn to him.

"What has gotten you so happy, Happosai?" asked Jotaro.

"I just saw Genma being made to go out with a drawing of a female panda," laughed Happosai. "He even had to kiss her."

Jotaro blinked before taking sake from under the counter and giving Happosai a cup.

"Do tell," he demanded hungrily.

Happosai obliged and told everybody in the restaurant how Genma had liberated a horrible painting of a female panda at the local festival who had then cried when Genma had tried to exorcize her. Genma had accepted to go out with her under the pressure of the other people and how it asked him for a kiss before being exorcized. Everyone in the restaurant laughed when Happosai mimed the face Genma had done when he had heard that. The panda had finally struck its forehead on Genma's lips since it only wanted a kiss on its forehead. It had been exorcize and Genma had managed to get away with a bruise on his lips and his pride quite struck by this ordeal. The general consensus in the restaurant was that Genma deserved it.

* * *

A.N: Sorry for the delay, I got caught up with exams. And believe me when I say that fluid mechanics can be a bitch.

As I said before, I dislike Chardin for the ridicule he brings on the French. As for Nabiki, I always thought that she should get a taste of her own medicine. If it seems harsh, it is mostly because I believe in the dark half in people. Some of them enjoy it better than most. And most people once in a while take pleasure in the suffering of others. Next time, Pantyhose Taro and two hardcore battles. I have been missing them. Nothing gets me high like an epic battle scene, and given the pleasure I got from writing them, I'm pretty sure they are at the very least okay. But that might be just me. We'll see next chapter.


	19. Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XVIII) Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean

The Jusenkyo guide woke up. He didn't really remember what had happened. He had had the time to see something monstrous before falling unconscious. He should really stop drinking but it was funny, he didn't even remember getting drunk...

He then froze as he noticed enormous prints on the ground. These were made by monstrous hooves and hands if the size was of any indication. He followed them cautiously inside of his hut and noticed that they lead to the register of the visitors of the springs. He looked for it and noticed that it had vanished. This puzzled him. Why would anyone want to steal the register of visitors to Jusenkyo? Were they searching for someone?

* * *

"A monster?" asked Jotaro dubiously while eyeing Ryoga. "Are you sure you didn't get lost in the female side of a public bath? Khu Lon sometimes baths here."

"Yes dammit," snapped Ryoga. "He had a Jusenkyo curse since he changed from a guy with pantyhose to a four metres tall monster. He is insanely tough. What I don't understand is that after beating me he checked in a register and drew a line in it."

Jotaro thought on it. He had had the same echoes from Akane about Genma.

"Maybe he has a grudge against Jusenkyo cursed victims," inferred Jotaro. "He already attacked Genma. I have to warn Mousse. He'll probably get a visit from this mysterious monster. Me too for that matter."

He went on his way to tell Mousse.

* * *

Mousse was a bit on guard. There was someone after Jusenkyo cursed victims. He had gotten Genma, Ryoga and, since Jotaro had told him about the so-called monster, Shampoo. He had also tied them with pantyhose. Cologne had told everybody that the register the monster was routinely checking was the register of the visitors to the springs. So this guy was after said visitors, probably the cursed victims. He was waiting for the mysterious monster.

A young man entered the restaurant. He had chestnut hair shaped like a duck's rear with two strings of hair going down near his ears and had nearly closed eyes. He wore guards on his wrists and had a Chinese suit made of mesh. He wore kung-fu pants and slippers and, strangely, had pantyhose around his waist. Mousse made the link with what Jotaro had told him about the monster and decided to get it over with.

"Welcome to our restaurant, the Jusenkyohanten," he said gaily. "My name is Mu Tsu, or Mousse. What will you be taking?"

The young man looked a bit put off by the greeting. He looked at a book and looked back at Mousse.

"Do you have a Jusenkyo curse?" he asked.

"With the name of my restaurant, what do you think?" retorted Mousse. "Do you want to see it?"

"If it doesn't bother you," replied the Chinese man who was a bit surprised at Mousse's solicitude. He was obviously used to demanding and not asking for this.

Mousse nodded, took of his robes and pants and filled two glasses of water, one of hot water and one of cold water. He then crouched on the counter and emptied the glass of cold water on himself. A duck instantly appeared under the young man's gaze. He then did something strange. He took a pantyhose from his pocket and tied it loosely around Mousses neck, under said duck mystified gaze. The duck then took the glass of hot water and recovered his human form after emptying it on himself. He then put back his clothes and then took of the pantyhose from his neck and eyed it strangely.

"What is this for?" he asked curious.

"Well, I put one on each of the persons I met who had their name in the registers of Jusenkyo visitors," explained the young man. "I put one on each person I beat up. I didn't have to beat you up since you were rather cooperative but I still did it as it is a tradition for me."

"Why a pantyhose, though?" asked Mousse.

The young man remained silent. Mousse didn't dwell on it too much and asked another question.

"I heard your cursed form is one of a monster," said Mousse. "Care to elaborate?"

"It's not exactly a monster," replied the young man, "it's a mix of different animals. The spring I fell in is called Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan, the Spring of the Drown Yeti Ridding a Bull and Holding a Crane and an Eel. As such, I have the main body of a yeti, the head and rear legs of a bull, crane wings which allow me to fly despite my corpulence and an eel's tail."

Mousse blinked. This was a bit far-fetched but he had seen the bizarre already and he knew that Jusenkyo was strange.

"You want to see it?" asked the young man.

"Not in my restaurant," countered Mousse, "but yes, I would like to see it."

"Follow me outside, then," said the young man. Mousse nodded and followed him, taking two glasses of water with him. They went behind the restaurant and the young man shed his clothed unabashed. He then took the glass of water from Mousse and emptied it on him. Immediately, his form swelled until he was four metres tall. It indeed had the body of a yeti, the head and rear legs of a bull, crane wings and an eel's tail. Mousse eyed it impressed and held the glass of hot water in front of it. The Minotaur (since it was what he looked like the most) nodded and put its head down. Mousse drenched it with the hot water and the young man was here once again. He put his clothes back and looked at Mousse.

"I'll be going now," he said. He prepared to go away but was hung back by Mousse.

"Not so fast," said the owner of the Jusenkyohanten. "If you're searching for visitors to the cursed springs, then one of them will come here in a few hours. You'd better wait for him in the restaurant. And if you explain the situation to him he will probably help you."

The young man started and eyed Mousse expectantly.

"His name is Jotaro Kujo," elaborated Mousse. "He doesn't register in your register since he didn't have the same name then. He changed it after coming back to Japan. I never bothered learning the entire story, maybe I'll ask him. He owns half of the restaurant and should come here in two hours. So your best bet to find him is to wait him here. I can even pay you a little to dress the tables."

"I think I'll accept," replied the young man.

He followed Mousse in the restaurant and helped him dress the tables. Mousse gave him a small silver ring as payment. He could trade it more easily in China than yen notes. Jotaro came later and eyed the new guy expectantly.

"Hello Mousse and guest," he said simply. "Who might you be?"

"My name is irrelevant," responded the young man quickly. "I came here to check who you were."

"He is the mysterious monster who attacked Jusenkyo cursed victims," supplied Mousse helpfully.

Jotaro looked very interested.

"I thought you would attack him," he said to Mousse. "He did attack Shampoo, after all."

"He didn't do much to her," retorted Mousse. "And he didn't try to seduce her. And the more I learn about Shampoo's attitude, the less I like her. And I have some cute patrons here sometimes."

Jotaro filled that in for later and turned to the Chinese young man.

"You have things to ask me?" he asked him. The young man nodded.

"I wanted to ask you what you know about Ranma Saotome," he replied. "I have to check if you're really him."

"I'm not him," countered Jotaro. "Not really. But it is a strange story. You'd better sit down."

They all sat down, Mousse included and Jotaro told them part of his story, including how he had taken over Ranma's body. He then demonstrated his curse to the young man. The young man nodded satisfyingly and tied pantyhose around Jotaro's female form. Jotaro didn't even blink. She had seen stranger, after all. The young man then drew a line in the register.

"Only one name remaining," he said with satisfaction. "I just have to find this Happosai and I can have my revenge."

Jotaro froze and stared at him. Mousse did too.

"What?" asked the young man.

"I know Happosai," replied Jotaro. "He is one of my friends. What I'd like to know is what you have against him."

The young man frowned.

"I don't want to tell you," he replied. "The only thing I can tell you is that he was the one to bath me into the Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan."

"So you want revenge against him because he gave you your curse?" asked Mousse.

"Whatever gave you this idea?" replied the young man. Mousse started.

"You like this strange curse?" he asked while Jotaro thought on it.

"Of course," interrupted Jotaro. "From a fighter's point of view, which he is, this curse is a blessing, if only for the surprise of seeing a four metre tall monster at the slightest trace of water."

"That's the least of the advantages," added the young man. "I lose speed and flexibility when I transform but I get a massive boost of strength, I can flight and I can produce electricity. So I'm quite happy with my transformation. If I have something against Happosai, it has nothing to do with my curse."

"I wonder what he did to you," wondered Jotaro aloud.

"I'd rather not talk about it," said the young man while frowning.

"Okay," said Jotaro. "It's your right after all. But I have to warn you, I expect a good fight from you."

The young man looked at her curious.

"Why would you want to fight me?" he asked.

"Several reasons," replied Jotaro. "You have something against my friend for one."

"You want to defend him?" asked the Chinese fighter threateningly.

"Why would I?" countered Jotaro. "He is strong enough to defend himself. I don't need to help him. But your cursed form represents a good challenge and even without it you're probably skilled enough to put up a good fight. I have to warn you though, I'm monstrously skilled and sneaky, so you'd probably lose against me even in your cursed form."

The young man bristled a bit at that but was a bit curious at the young woman.

"So you want to fight for the sake of it?" he asked.

"That's the gist of it," answered Jotaro.

"Not in my restaurant, you won't," countered Mousse.

"It's our restaurant," retorted Jotaro.

"Yes but I'm one of the owner," replied Mousse. "As such, I ask you to fight away from here."

"I don't have a problem with that," added the Chinese man.

"Come with me," said Jotaro to him. "We'll fight outside to wait for Happosai. He should come here soon with his apprentice."

"He has an apprentice?" asked the young man surprised.

"A young girl by the name of Akane Tendo," answered Jotaro. "She is learning martial arts from him and me. She's becoming quite good."

They went in front of the restaurant and faced one another. Jotaro adopted her loose stance with her legs slightly apart and her hands in her pockets.

"Let's fight," she said. "I'll limit myself to hand-to-hand. If you manage to make me use one of my most esoteric techniques, you can say that you're quite good."

"If you really want," replied the young man. "If you're that good, I will have to resort to my cursed form."

He adopted a stance that emphasized his strength, crouching slightly and keeping his arms near his body. Mousse went out, noticed what was occurring and decided to take the role of the referee. He noticed that patrons who had come for the restaurant were observing the scene. If anything, it would be good for his profit.

"Begin!" he shouted.

The young man decided to go on the offensive. He rushed at Jotaro and sent a tremendous punch in her belly. He was obviously a veteran fighter if he didn't believe in gentlemanliness. He was surprised when Jotaro blocked the punch and didn't even recoil from it. The young man eyed her with wide eyes before smirking. He then started to rain punches and kicks on her. Although they seemed to be aimed at random, Jotaro blocked each and every one of them, not being touched once. He then performed a tremendous axe kick on her. Jotaro blocked it with a strange pose, feet slightly apart, her whole body straight, her right hand in her pocket and her left arm high and bent over her head, her index finger protruding from her fist. She blocked the kick and two craters appeared at her feet. Her body hadn't moved. She smiled while she looked at the young man. He was nearly as strong as Ryoga. He eyed her with wide eyes and a big smile.

"You're good at attacking," she said with a smirk. "Strong, rather quick and far from predictable."

"Not as fast as you, it seems," he replied. "It's your turn to attack."

"As you wish," said Jotaro. "Prepare yourself."

The young man crossed his arms in front of him and waited for her. Jotaro dashed at him and punched him straight in the arms. The guards prevented any injury but he was pushed back on four metres. He recovered and eyed her with disbelief. He then adopted another stance with his arms in front of him, ready to grab her if need be. Jotaro sent a powerful but slow punch at him. He grabbed her arm and deflected it, sending the punch to the ground where it created a crater. He tried to counter her at the same time but she blocked. She smiled.

"Let's make things more difficult for you," she said.

She then sent several fast and strong punches that the young man avoided. He managed to grab one and sent Jotaro in the air with her strength. Jotaro flew and landed ten metres away. She eyed the Chinese man with a fully-bloomed smile.

"If something doesn't work, you don't obstinate yourself and try something else," she said. "You're very adaptable. Let's up the ante some more."

She dashed at him once more and rained punch and kicks on him. He managed to avoid the first ones but soon had to block. He started to back away under the hits. He missed one of the hits and it broke his guard. He managed to put it on again but took one kick in the abdomen for his effort and struggled to gain his breath back. Jotaro continued to attack him and broke his guard once more. She managed to hit him with two kicks and three punches. The young man flew away under the strength behind the hits and landed on his feet, although he had difficulties in standing up. Jotaro eyed him with respect.

"You're still up after that," she said. "You're tough as well as strong and relatively fast."

"It's not enough to beat you it seems," he whizzed loudly while eyeing her. "I'll need my cursed form to manage it."

"Get your breath back and transform," replied Jotaro. "I'm waiting for it."

The young man waited for a few minutes before taking of his clothes and splashing water on his head. He was immediately replaced by a tall and bulky winged Minotaur. Jotaro eyed it critically.

"You're probably way stronger but you lose speed with this form," she said. "Still, it should be interesting to fight an honest-to-God monster."

The Minotaur roared and dashed at Jotaro, literally flying at her with the help of its wings. Jotaro was a bit surprised at the speed. She had figured that the Minotaur wouldn't be that fast but she had been wrong. It was fast on its legs...

A punch shot at her and she didn't have time to avoid it without her special abilities so she blocked it.

...And fast with its punches too. She flew away under the momentum that had been transmitted to her and caught herself on a wall. The Minotaur was easily twenty times stronger than Ryoga and five times faster too. It would be a difficult opponent. But not an impossible one.

Jotaro dashed at the Minotaur and punched it square in the chest, making it recoil in surprise. It probably hadn't ever been hit that strongly in this form. It considered Jotaro with a calculating gaze.

"Come on," said Jotaro as she made a beckoning sign.

The Minotaur dashed at her and started to rain blows on her, sometimes helping itself by pushing itself with its wings. Jotaro avoided most of the hits and redirected a few of them, which lead to some impacts on the ground and one on a wall when the Minotaur had flown into it. It then started to hit Jotaro the best it could. It noted the moment Jotaro avoided one of its kick and threw a downward punch to hit her. Jotaro couldn't avoid this one and took the same strange posture as before to block it, only she had her legs together since she hadn't had time to separate them. The punch pushed her into the ground up to her bosom since she had remained straight. She extracted herself from the ground quickly since the Minotaur took the time to eye her with disbelief, impressed that she had managed to take such a strong hit without a scratch.

"You would have obliged me to use one of my special abilities if you had followed up on that hit," she said simply. "And then you would have won. Still, your strength is astonishing and the way you trapped me for that hit is impressive. Congratulations, I'll have to go all out."

With that said she put her cap slightly askew in one swift move of her hand and took a very aggressive stance. She had her legs widely apart and slightly bent, her back straight although it was inclined and her arms wide, slightly up and slightly bent, with her wrists bent and fingers hooked lazily in claws. She looked like a predator that way. She might have been small but she managed to give an impression of extreme dangerousness. The Minotaur felt how threatening she was and eyed her warily, waiting for the attack. It didn't have to wait for long.

Jotaro dashed at it, almost keeping the position, except that she moved. Once she was on it, she started to pummel the Minotaur for all it was worth with precise fast and strong punches and kicks. The Minotaur tried to avoid and block them but couldn't do it since they were so vicious. It howled in pain as it was lifted from the ground before being ground into it. It was suffering from the mother of all beat-downs. The only redeeming thing about it was that its girth prevented it from being seriously hurt. No bones were broken during its beat-down, nor were organs damaged. Still, it was in a world of pain. Jotaro stopped attacking and waited for it to catch its breath. She could have finished it by starting a second wave of merciless attacks but she decided that this opponent was worthy and decided to lose to it. She thus put her cap straight, put her hands in her pockets and waited for it. The Minotaur saw that and realised that it was a trick. It however decided to trigger the trap by springing it and sent a horizontal punch at the petite woman. A flash was seen before it hit her.

When the fist impacted, Jotaro didn't move, nor did the fist seem to dent her flesh. It however seemed to flatten on an invisible wall and triggered an explosion. The Minotaur was caught into it and was sent flying away. It crashed into a wall before falling on the ground. It wasn't unconscious but it was obviously in pain, a shoulder having dislocated on impact. Jotaro stopped emitting light and came to it. She then pulled a canteen of hot water from... somewhere and poured it on the Minotaur, who promptly changed into the now naked Chinese young man. Jotaro covered him with a cover taken from... somewhere and pushed several shiatsu point on him, making it easier for him to breathe and dulling most of the pain he felt. Jotaro then grabbed his dislocated shoulder and put it back into place, barely eliciting a grunt from the young man. She then eyed him critically.

"You've won," she said with finality. The young man eyed her strangely.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"You've won," she repeated. "I had to resort to one of my ki-based abilities to defeat you. So under our terms, you've won."

"I didn't win," he replied. "You could have defeated me had you started a second assault with this strange aggressive stance."

"Yes," admitted Jotaro. "But this posture alone is one of my special abilities, so you in fact won when I started to use it. It can easily be classified as a forbidden technique since the attacks are so difficult to avoid or block that the whole stance is a sure way to win. You're the only person to have ever been attacked with it, or rather you are the only one living through it to tell the tale. I usually use this stance only when I want to kill someone, which unfortunately occurs a bit too much for my tastes. I didn't even attack Happosai with it and he is a martial arts grandmaster."

The young man accepted the explanation and noticed something behind Jotaro. Jotaro turned and noticed that Akane and Happosai had arrived and were eyeing them strangely while Mousse was explaining what had happened to them. He noticed that the young man was eyeing Happosai with visible fighting intent. There was one problem for him however.

"You are in no condition to defy Happosai," said Jotaro with finality.

"I know," growled the young man. "But I can't let him go away now that I've found him!"

"Then kidnap Akane," replied Jotaro. "Be gentle with her and I'm sure she would follow you willingly. Happosai would follow her. If you bring her back to China it would take some time for him to go there and would give you time to heal."

"I'll do that," replied the young man before rising, taking his clothes in his hand and hiding his modesty behind the piece of cloth Jotaro had given him. He went to where Akane was

"That reminds me," said Jotaro suddenly. "I don't know your name. You never told it. What is it?"

The young man frowned and turned towards her.

"I'll tell you after my fight with Happosai," he just replied. And with that he went straight to Akane.

"Pardon me young lady," he said politely. "I want to fight your sensei for some wrong he did to me but I'm currently recovering from a fight with the young lady behind me. Would it bother you if I kidnapped you to drag Happosai to my hiding place in China? It would give me time to recover before fighting him."

Akane looked surprised at being asked that and thought on it for a minute.

"Sure," she eventually said. "Why not?"

The young man was stunned.

"Can't believe it worked," he said dumbly.

"Well, you were quite nice with the whole thing," replied Akane iddly, "how could I say no? Still, how are we going to go to China?"

"Flying," answered the young man simply.

"You're taking me there by plane?" asked Akane.

"Not exactly," replied the young man. He emptied a canteen of water on himself and was soon replaced by the winged Minotaur. Akane looked at him a bit surprised. Happosai looked quite put off from where he was.

"That's a strange Jusenkyo curse," she finally said. "I thought I had seen everything. And you can fly with these wings?"

The Minotaur nodded.

"Well, let's get it over with," she said before shrieking in a shrill voice. "Master Happosai! Help me! This monster wants to capture me to take me to its hideout in China!"

Happosai looked at her with raised eyebrows. The Minotaur shook its head and grabbed Akane in its arms before flying away.

"Help me master!" still shouted Akane theatrically while she was taken away and made wide gestures with her arms before she became too far away to see.

Happosai blinked. Then he blinked once more and one more time after that. He then turned towards Jotaro.

"What just happened?" he asked dumbfounded.

Jotaro smirked and explained the situation to him. Happosai blinked again. He then sat down and thought on the situation.

"What are you thinking about, old man?" asked Jotaro.

"The pervert in me says that this young man must be a great one to use that much pantyhose," answered Happosai with utter seriousness. Mousse fell down in shock. Jotaro gave a sharp laugh.

"And the more conventional parts of you?" she asked the old pervert.

"They are frustrated," replied Happosai. "I remember giving him his bath in the Niuhoomanmaorenniichuan but I can't even remember his name. And why do I feel a connection to pantyhose?"

"It's the pervert in you trying to force his way back out," replied Jotaro idly. "We have to pursue them and free Akane from the claws of this vile monster," he added dramatically before saying quite seriously: "And learn what the hell he has against you."

"I'm curious about that too," admitted Happosai. "If not his curse, then what?"

They prepared to leave but were stopped by Mousse.

"What?" asked Jotaro.

"And how will the restaurant take care of itself if you go?" he said sternly. "I can't do it by myself. So you will stay here to help me, then go after my waitress. Besides, tomorrow is our day off and then we all can get to China."

Jotaro and Happosai eyed one another and nodded to one another.

"Why not?" said Jotaro. "I'll be a waiter tonight and it will give our kidnapper some time to get himself healed and rested."

Happosai nodded and followed them into the restaurant, which was becoming filled with patrons.

* * *

"What was that all about?" asked the Chinese man to Akane once he had lead her to his hideout in China.

"If I'm supposed to be a damsel in distress, then I'm going to act the part right and be distressed and tearful," replied Akane with a mask of seriousness only balanced by the mirth in her eyes.

"Fair enough," said the young man with a sigh. He then winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" asked Akane concerned.

"Not really," he answered. "I fought with that Jotaro lady and boy is she tough! She hit me so hard I still feel it despite being in my monster form at the time. She managed to throw me into a wall in this form by just hitting me."

"Jotaro is a monster at fighting," agreed Akane. "And she knows some awesome techniques, too."

"That's the thing," replied the young man. "She didn't use any of her technique until the very end. She used one to lose. It was one of the terms of the match. She destroyed me with that strange aggressive stance of her. It is really monstrous and prevents the opponent from countering, blocking and avoiding."

"Well, if you made her resort to her special techniques, you must be good," stated Akane. "I'm not bad and I have yet to manage to make her use them to get rid of me. I don't remember an aggressive stance among those she uses though."

"It looks like this," replied the young man.

He then adopted a copy of the stand Jotaro had used. It made him look bestial. Akane frowned at seeing it. She was ill at ease when facing it.

"It's impressive, all right," she said with a grimace. "I wouldn't want to face someone with this stance. It makes you look like a predator."

"And keep in mind that I don't know how to pull it off and use it properly," added the young man. "Now imagine it wielded perfectly by someone who knows how to use it and its follow-ups to their fullest and make that someone Jotaro Kujo."

Akane visualized the scene and shivered.

"I'm scared at the prospect," she finally said. "And Jotaro isn't even exactly likely to use it on me any time soon. It's really terrifying. I'm surprised you fought against that, even in your cursed form."

"I didn't really fight," snorted the young man. "I was just overcome by the strikes. There's a difference."

"Well, you'll probably have an easier time dealing with Happosai," stated Akane. "He is far from strong. He is best at redirecting his opponent's strength, like Jotaro in fact. He however uses several esoteric techniques. I don't think he'll use the strength-sapping moxibuston but he is likely to use his Happo-Daikarin. You have to expect strange techniques, like the cloth-stealing one. He is a strange character. A good and tragic one but a strange one."

"What do you mean tragic?" asked the young man. Akane smiled sadly.

"You don't know much about Happosai, do you?" she asked rhetorically.

"Apart from the fact that I want to exact revenge on him?" replied the young man. "No, not really."

"You should hear his story," replied Akane. "It's a sad one and sheds much light on his behaviour."

And she told him of Happosai's cursed fate and his unwilling perversion. The young man listened intently to the story. He finally shook his head.

"I'm still fighting him," he eventually said. "I'll just avoid beating him senseless. I thought he deserved it but it visibly isn't the case. I still want to fight him. He sounds like a challenge that isn't often met."

"Why did you hate him anyway?" asked Akane. "For that matter, what is your name?"

The young man grimaced.

"You'll learn after our fight," he answered. "While we are waiting for them, why don't we train each other? If you learn special techniques, I'm willing to learn them. I don't know any since I rely on strength, speed and hand-to-hand skill."

Akane nodded and soon they were sparing, showing each other their techniques while waiting for Happosai and Jotaro.

* * *

The next day, Jotaro, Happosai and Mousse were ready to go. There was just one thing that was bothering Mousse.

"How are you going to cross the Chinese Sea?" he asked Jotaro. "I can fly there but you will have to take a plane or a boat."

"I could also swim," replied Jotaro. "But I have a better idea. Leave me and Happosai and try to find Akane. I'm getting Happosai and myself across the sea."

Mousse nodded, shed his clothes and put them in Hidden Weapon space, emptied a glass of cold water on himself and flew off.

"He has a good point," said Happosai. "How are we going to get to China?"

"It's better if I show you," replied Jotaro. "We need to go to the western coast for that though. I'll also need to know how long you can hold onto me while I am under the influence of the Neko-ken."

Happosai nodded and they took off. They hijacked a train going to Fukuoka and hid on its roof. There, Jotaro entered the Neko-ken and held Happosai close to him. He managed to do that for a minute before Happosai got off of Jotaro. Jotaro eyed him with satisfaction.

"This should be enough," he said. "I should remain under the influence of the Neko-ken for only fifteen seconds at most, so it's all right."

"I still don't see how it will help us," replied Happosai.

"I'm going to perform a jump in this state," explained Jotaro. "It should propel us on nearly a kilometre in distance and, most importantly, at two hundred metres of height."

"That all well and good," replied Happosai. "But the Chinese Sea is wider than that. What are we going to do to cross the rest?"

"It's a surprise," said Jotaro with a smirk.

Happosai looked at the smirk expectantly. This peculiar smirk meant that Jotaro had a crazy idea, most likely a flashy one, to cross the sea. He was curious as to what it was. Jotaro took a piece of... something from... somewhere and examined it. It looked like a plate made of a strange black and slightly porous matter with several layers. It had two handles on one side.

"What is this?" asked Happosai.

"Something to help us cross the sea," answered Jotaro.

"Be more precise, please," demanded Happosai.

"It's a piece of the protective layer of a space shuttle," replied Jotaro. "I had the utmost difficulties to get one but I knew it would be useful one day. It can resist extreme temperatures of several thousand degrees and tremendous shocks like the one of the entry into the Earth's atmosphere at more than twenty-five thousand miles per hour. It is perfect for what I intend to do."

"And why would you need something that tough?" asked Happosai carefully.

"You'll see," answered Jotaro with a smirk. "And you'll probably like it."

"You're doing it on purpose," grumbled Happosai. "You're making me more and more curious."

"Whatever gave you this idea?" asked Jotaro innocently.

"Cheeky brat," was Happosai's answer.

They arrived at Fukuoka after several hours and went by the sea. Happosai was growing incredibly curious. He had tried to grill Jotaro on his way to get to China but Jotaro hadn't wanted to say anything, which irritated Happosai to no end. Jotaro stopped a hundred metres away from the sea and eyed Happosai. He then took a strange harness from... somewhere and put it on.

"What is this?" asked Happosai.

"It's a harness," replied Jotaro. "I will use it to carry you more efficiently. I'll have to do it in male form so as not to activate your curse."

Happosai nodded and jumped in the harness, going into it in one go. Jotaro tied him up firmly so that he wouldn't fall for what he had in store. Happosai was tied in the upper part of Jotaro's body, his head protruding from Jotaro's shoulder.

"Ready?" asked Jotaro to Happosai.

"Do your worst," answered Happosai simply.

Jotaro nodded and activated the Neko-ken. The malevolent purple and black aura enshrouded him and Happosai, who resisted quite well against the absolute terror it instilled in the people it touched. Jotaro then dashed at the sea with inhuman speed, almost dislocating Happosai's neck, and took a final step just before the water. He then jumped, creating a ten metre wide crater in the sand and propelling himself almost a kilometre away and two hundred metres high. He deactivated the Neko-ken.

"And now?" asked Happosai as they started to fall.

"Now the real fun starts," Jotaro shouted back. "Jotaro Rocket Strike!"

A rocket made of vital energy appeared in his hand.

"Fire in the hole!" he shouted.

The rocket ignited and propelled itself at high speed. But Jotaro hadn't released it. He was grabbing its tail and angling his body so as not to be burnt by the propelling gases. Even though they were made of his energy, they could burn him. He had inclined the rocket slightly up so it could carry him without losing height. Happosai barely believed it, but this was Jotaro Kujo after all. Happosai was starting to believe that there was a law of the universe that stated that Jotaro Kujo ruled unconditionally. However, Jotaro wasn't finished.

The rocket carried them on several kilometres before it emptied itself. It was about to explode. Jotaro sent himself in front of it by balancing and pulled the piece of space shuttle he had shown Happosai before. He put it between him and the rocket, angling it slightly so that he was over it. The rocket crashed into it and exploded. The explosion blew Jotaro and Happosai further away and higher, making them gain at least a hundred metres in height. Happosai was now officially impressed.

"THIS TOTALLY ROCKS!" he shouted in elation.

"And it's not finished," Jotaro shouted back. "Jotaro Rocket Strike! Fire in the hole!"

And he fired another rocket. They travelled across the sea in that fashion.

* * *

"I wonder when they'll be here," said Akane.

She was currently training in one of the Tendo forbidden technique while the young man trained in the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. They had spared the whole day before. Akane had to admit that he was extremely skilled in hand-to-hand. She hadn't managed to beat him with them alone in his human form. She had had to resort to her ki-based techniques to inflict significant damage on him. And she hadn't had the slightest chance against his Minotaur form. He however had told him what technique Jotaro had used to defeat him in this form and she was currently working on it. The young man had been impressed by what ki-based techniques could do and had decided to learn the first one Akane had shown him. He was however training with fishes in an aquarium instead of chestnuts on an open fire.

"I wonder too," he replied to Akane. "However it should take them some time to find us since we crossed a sea."

"Well, if I know Mousse, he prevented them from going immediately since he has a restaurant to mind and needs some help since I'm not there," stated Akane. "However, today is our business-free day, so they have probably started today."

At that moment, a duck arrived in the hideout. The duck then took a canteen of hot water from Hidden Weapon space and emptied it on itself. Mousse appeared naked but didn't remain that way for long.

"Hello, Mousse," said Akane, who didn't react to Mousse's nudity. She had grown accustomed to it.

"Finally found you," replied Mousse. "I came before Jotaro and Happosai. They had a way to go there by themselves, though I don't know which. I will go and find them to guide them here."

At that moment they heard an explosion in the distance followed by the cry: "IT ROCKS". They immediately went out and eyed around. Then they heard a noise and looked up disbelievingly.

Jotaro was flying, Happosai on his back, by grabbing the tail of a rocket. Before it exploded, he jumped over it and put a strange plate between him and the rocket. When the rocket exploded, it propelled him and Happosai higher.

"I saw them!" shouted Happosai. "They are nearby!"

"Let's land, then," shouted Jotaro.

And he let himself fall from a few hundred metres, fifty metres above the ground, he put a grenade made of ki under the piece of space shuttle and detonated it. It broke their fall and allowed Jotaro to fall gracefully from only sixty metres. He touched the ground lightly and put the piece of space shuttle back to where he had taken it, that is to say... somewhere. Mousse, Akane and the Chinese young man were eyeing him and Happosai disbelievingly.

"It's already finished?" asked Happosai disappointed. "I wanted to do it a while longer."

"I have to rest a little," revealed Jotaro. "I may make this look easy but it isn't. Besides, there's always the return."

"You flew all the way to there in this fashion?" asked Mousse dumbly.

"With the Jotaro Rocket Strike you mean?" replied Jotaro. "Yes, I did. It's useful for travel after all." He then noticed that all of the others save Happosai were eyeing him with dumb looks. "What?"

"You're insane," stated Akane flatly.

"Just for that comment, you're going back to Japan that way with me," retorted Jotaro.

Akane looked suddenly very nervous.

"Don't worry," said Happosai cheerfully. "You'll love it. It's like a roller coaster but totally unhinged."

"I don't like roller coasters," replied Akane a bit unsure.

Happosai looked crestfallen.

"What!" he whined. "How can you not like them? Besides, Jotaro's flight is way better. It's like the end of gravity. It's the martial arts Holy Grail!"

"As much as I like the fact that you're praising me," started Jotaro, "weren't you here to meet a challenge?"

"You're right," said Happosai who sobered instantly before turning to the Chinese man. "We have a fight to fight, I believe, young man. Come to think of it, what is your name?"

The Chinese man twitched, visibly annoyed.

"I'll tell you after the fight," he said while getting in a ready stance.

"Fair enough," replied Happosai. He then went off of Jotaro's harness and stood proudly before the Chinese fighter.

Jotaro, Akane and Mousse went further away. Since the hideout was in the mountains, they managed to get quite higher than the two opponents.

"The match will begin soon," he shouted to the two. "Apart from crippling or killing your opponent," he got a smirk on his face, "anything goes. Begin!"

At that cry, the young man dashed at Happosai and rained blows upon him. Happosai avoided, blocked and otherwise deflected all of them, sending the young man twice into the ground. He noticed that his tactic didn't work and took a wooden staff from... somewhere. Akane hadn't known it but he obviously knew the Hidden Weapon technique. He attacked Happosai with renewed fervour but more cautiously, so as not to get himself embedded into the ground. Happosai was impressed by his composure. While his main strong point, that is to say hand-to-hand, hadn't worked, the young man hadn't abandoned or remained obstinate and had changed his strategy. Happosai suddenly grabbed the end of the staff and immobilized it, as well as the young man.

"I have your weapon," said Happosai idly. "What are you going to do?"

In response the young man smirked. He then gave a mighty heave on the staff that cut it in two and used his part of it to deflect Happosai's part before sending a mighty kick into him. Happosai took the kick fully but somersaulted lazily into the air and landed insanely lightly. He eyed the young man expectantly.

"You're good," he said. "Only Jotaro and Khu Lon forced me to use Xiao-lee, or mitigation. You're the third person making me do that. And only Jotaro knows how to counter it. It consists in relaxing the body in totality at the moment of impact and let momentum carry away the strength of the hit. Will you find how to counter it?"

"I'm certainly going to try," replied the young man.

He then shed his clothes, grabbed a canteen of water from... somewhere and doused himself with water. A winged Minotaur instantly appeared and dashed at Happosai with the help of its wings. It rained several blows on him but Happosai took them all and always did extensive somersaulting movements to get rid of the momentum. Happosai took about forty hits like that before landing gracefully away from the Minotaur. He smiled as a small trickle of blood ran down from his nostril.

"Not bad but you have yet to counter my Xiao-lee," he said. "Maybe I should give you an incentive and use hyposthenia on you. I'm going on the offensive."

Happosai then went near the Minotaur and sent a rather weak punch. The Minotaur snorted and prepared to block.

Then it felt something and its eyes widened. It did something that surprised Mousse and Akane.

It jumped back, avoiding the weak punch.

"What's wrong?" taunted Happosai. "Scared of one measly punch?"

The Minotaur growled but avoided several similar punches until it was blocked by a wall and could back away further.

"Why is he avoiding that?" asked Akane.

"The punches look really weak and he is strong," added Mousse. "He could block them."

"It wouldn't be a good idea," replied Jotaro. "It's not something you can feel unless you're the direct target of one of these punches."

"What do you mean?" asked Akane.

"You'll learn in a few seconds," answered Jotaro.

Akane looked back at the fight and noticed that Happosai was sending a punch at the Minotaur. Since it couldn't jump back to avoid it, it flew up. Happosai's punch hit the cliff.

Immediately, the cliff shattered at the point of impact and a ten metre wide crater appeared on it. The destructive force was so great that the earth shook under Jotaro's Mousse's and Akane's feet. Akane, Mousse and the Minotaur eyed the scene with disbelief as the Minotaur landed behind Happosai.

"No freaking way!" managed to utter Mousse.

"It is possible," said Jotaro audibly. "I can do the same thing."

"But how?" sputtered Akane, incredibly awed. There had been no ki used in this move, only pure physical force. But Happosai didn't have any.

"Hyposthenia," replied Jotaro. "When Happosai uses Xiao-lee, the energy sent into his body doesn't dissipate. He stores it and can release it into his hits. In essence, he redirects the attacks of his opponent, but with a delay, which allows him to release the energy of several attacks in one go, hence the crater. It's a good thing our Minotaur felt it before being touched or he would have lost the match."

"You know how to do that?" asked Akane awed.

"Took me the better part of a week but I have hyposthenia down," he answered. "I managed to defeat Happosai with it, especially since I know how to counter Xiao-lee. I wonder how long he will last against Happosai. It's impressive that he dodged the first hits."

The Minotaur heard the explanation and attacked Happosai with a renewed vigour. Suddenly its arms blurred and it sent a few hundred of punches at Happosai who used Xiao-lee against it.

"He used the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" said Akane awed. "I just showed it to him yesterday!"

"Just shows how much of a genius he is at martial arts," replied Jotaro. "But this doesn't play in his favour. Happosai can use hyposthenia to its fullest with the number of hits he took. Unless..."

"Unless?" asked Mousse.

"Unless our nameless Minotaur has a plan," said Jotaro simply.

The Minotaur landed and waited for Happosai with its arm in a blocking position.

"Want to know how much you can take?" asked Happosai cheerfully. "Fine with me. I'm going to use one tenth of my hyposthenia. You should survive it but in which state I cannot guarantee."

He then hit the Minotaur. The winged beast flew away at high speed, its arms tingling under the monstrous force they had stopped, and became encased in a nearby cliff. It got itself out of it, landed heavily four metres under and shook its head. It then beckoned Happosai and adopted a blocking stance. Happosai looked at it and figured that it was obviously a trap. He decided to spring it.

"You want more?" he asked. "Very well. This time I'll use one fifth of my reserves. You would die if I used more."

And Happosai sent a lazy punch at the Minotaur. At the last moment, said Minotaur jumped up and landed behind Happosai. Happosai's punch destroyed the cliff and parts of it started to fall on him. He avoided some and blocked others.

"Not bad for a trap," he shouted. "But a little landslide won't do me in. You'd better..."

At that moment, the Minotaur attacked. Happosai couldn't block or defend, nor avoid, so he took the hit and used Xiao-lee. The only problem with that was that he was sent in the wall and couldn't mitigate the hit correctly.

"If you punch your opponent into a wall, Xiao-lee becomes useless," stated Jotaro. "He is good to have noticed that."

The Minotaur caught Happosai back as he fell to the ground and punched him into the wall. Happosai swore. The Minotaur had found the Xiao-lee's weakness and was using it for all it was worth. Inwardly he was impressed. No one save Jotaro had ever found said weakness. He decided that the Minotaur was a worthy opponent.

However, his pride as a martial arts grandmaster wouldn't allow him to lose. He decided to show this Minotaur why he was one. He still had much hyposthenia after all.

As he touched the ground he used hyposthenia. The ground shook and a thirty metres wide crater appeared. Akane and Mousse fell on the ground due to the shockwave. Parts of the cliff started to fall on the Minotaur. The beast growled and deflected them. That was all that Happosai needed. He hit the Minotaur with his remaining hyposthenia. The Minotaur howled, four of its ribs having cracked, and flew away for a hundred metres before falling heavily and leaving a crater on the ground.

"Happo-Daikarin!" shouted Happosai.

The Minotaur saw several fireworks being hurled at it. But the hit had been so strong that it couldn't move in time. It took the brunt of the fireworks explosion and collapsed unconscious. Happosai went near it and sighed. Jotaro soon rejoined him while Akane and Mousse were eyeing the fight zone with disbelief. It had been widely destroyed.

Jotaro emptied a canteen of hot water on the young man, who groaned in his sleep. He then pressed several shiatsu points to accelerate his healing and hoisted him on his shoulder.

"Let's go back to his hideout and wait for him to come back to his sense," he said to Happosai.

Happosai nodded and followed him wearily. The fight had taken its lot on him.

* * *

The young man woke up in his hideout if the ceiling was of any indication. His body hurt all over under the devastating hits it had received from the old man.

The old man...

"Good, you're awake," said Jotaro from beside him. "Your injuries should heal in a week. You'll have to avoid strenuous efforts for the period. Oh, and avoid transforming. Your bones are still fragile after all. Here is something to eat."

Jotaro held a ramen dish in front of the young man. He took it graciously and ate it in record time. He then got up and followed Jotaro in the main room of his hideout.

"So, young man," said Happosai. "Will you tell us your name?"

The young man looked supremely annoyed at him.

"How could you forget?" he snapped angrily. "You're the one who gave it to me! According to the laws of my tribe, the person who gives his first bath to a newborn of my tribe has to name him for life. And you chose a ridiculous one! This name is so ridiculous it is the bane of my existence! Do you have an idea how humiliating it is to tell people everywhere that your name is Pantsuto Taro?"

Everybody looked at Happosai strangely. Happosai sweated.

"Pantyhose Taro?" said Mousse dumbly. "You named a newborn Pantyhose Taro?"

"Er... I was in my perverted nihilistic state of mind?" said Happosai somewhat pathetically.

"Fair enough," said Jotaro before turning to Taro. "It explains why he uses pantyhose to tie his victims. What I don't understand is why you didn't change your name if you hate it so much."

"If I could, I would," replied Taro with a sigh. "But the laws of my tribe prevent that. Only the one who gave me my name can change it. Why do you think I was after the old man?"

Everyone eyed him dumbly.

"Don't take it the wrong way," said Akane hesitantly, "but the laws of your tribe seem retarded."

"I know," replied Taro. "But I like my tribe. As such I will follow its laws."

"Well, I've heard of stupider laws but since no lives are at stake, I won't begrudge you for following them," said Jotaro calmly before turning towards Happosai. "Now Happosai, I think it's time for you to give our part-time Minotaur another name."

"Of course," replied Happosai. "I will call you..." He stopped for a few seconds before sighing. "On second thoughts, it would be better if you told me which name you want, Taro."

"Why is that?" asked Taro a bit surprised.

"Because the only names I managed to come up with are Henry Briefs, Marcel Bra or names like that," explained Happosai with a sigh. "I don't think you would like that."

"I wouldn't," agreed Taro. "If I can choose, then call me Awesome Taro."

"Denied!" shouted Jotaro, Mousse and Akane.

"What!" cried Taro. "Why?"

"It sounds utterly retarded," stated Akane firmly.

"People will laugh more at this than they would at the name Pantyhose Taro," added Mousse.

"I won't have one of the strongest fighters of the world have such a ridiculous name," said Jotaro with finality.

Taro looked a bit put off but he realised that they would know better since he himself wasn't exactly used to dealing with people and decided to trust them.

"What would you call me, then?" he asked Jotaro.

Jotaro thought on it for a few seconds before deciding.

"Taro Noriaki," he eventually said. Happosai and Taro thought it over.

"Not bad," said Happosai. "But wasn't Noriaki Kakyoin one of your former friends?"

"He was," answered Jotaro evenly. "He died giving us the final clue to vanquish the monster that was Dio Brando. I have the utmost respect for him. That's why I suggested his name."

"So, what do you think of the name Taro Noriaki?" asked Happosai to Taro.

"I like it," he said happily. "Is it really my new name?"

"It is," replied Happosai. "Given the way you fought against Jotaro and me, you deserve it. I'm sorry for making your life hell until now."

"You could always take him as an apprentice to apologize," stated Akane.

Everybody looked at her dumbly, save for Jotaro who had had a similar idea.

"What?" asked Happosai.

"It's logical," added Jotaro. "You owe him for what you did to him and training him is the easiest way for you to compensate him."

"Well, I have nothing against that," stated Happosai before turning to Taro. "Would you be willing to be my apprentice, boy? You are formidable enough at hand-to-hand but you lack the versatility that learning to use your ki would give you. So what do you say?"

"I'm in," replied Taro eagerly. "If I can learn from such a skilled master, I'm totally in. I'll have to go back to my village to tell them that I changed my name and that I'm being apprenticed. It should take me a few weeks at most."

"That's all right," said Happosai. "We also have to decide where to put you once you are my apprentice."

"I want to expand the restaurant," said Mousse. "He could help built it and become a waiter after that. Plus, he and Akane could do some light sparing to distract the patrons."

"It's a good idea," added Jotaro. "That way he has a steady income and a place to live and can train with Akane under you."

"I knew that getting my name changed would be the highlight of my life but I hadn't thought it would be to that point," said Taro truthfully.

They discussed some more time before it was time for them to go. Jotaro put Happosai in his harness and tied Akane in front of him. Akane looked decidedly nervous.

"Don't worry, Akane," said Happosai cheerfully. "It's quite fun, you'll see."

Akane wasn't exactly reassured, especially when Jotaro went near the edge of a nearby cliff. He made a rocket of vital energy appear in his hand.

"Fire in the hole!" he shouted. And with that they took off. Happosai laughed. Akane had a different reaction altogether.

"!" she shrieked.

"Come on!" shouted Happosai. "This is fun!"

"I want to go down! I'm scared of void!" wailed Akane while they were flying.

They disappeared from view. Mousse and Taro eyed each other for a minute before collapsing in laughter.

"She's scared of void," chuckled Mousse. "Who would have thought?"

"It's time for us to go too," managed to say Taro between laughs.

Mousse took of his clothes, splashed himself with cold water and took off while Taro went in the opposite direction. Akane's faint cries of fear could still be heard from afar.

Later, Akane would refuse to take any flying device at any cost since she had developed a phobia of void, but that's a story for another day.

* * *

"So what was Kuno's training about?" asked Jotaro to Akane.

Kuno had sent him a letter of challenge to come and see the fruits of his training but Jotaro had refused to go. Akane had decided to go and see what it was all about.

"The moron got himself amnesia," snorted Akane. "He had his head locked into a watermelon. He still wanted to go out with me. I followed him on the island he trained on. Turns out his training gives him a boost in speed. Not enough to match my Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken but still. However, since he trained with watermelons, he can't help but attack them and slash them in two. I put one on his head and he hit himself with his bokken."

"Talk about moronic," stated Jotaro. "So he got a weakness against watermelons. That's got to be the most retarded weakness I've ever heard of."

"Tell me about it," laughed Akane.

* * *

Ukyo was leaning over a pot that contained an okonomiyaki sauce. This was the moment of truth. She had prepared this sauce ten years before. She felt a pang of sadness as she thought that she had prepared it for Ranma. He had promised that he would remain with her all of her life if she managed to prepare the sauce correctly.

"What's that?" asked Akane as she and Jotaro saw her and her pot of sauce. Ukyo explained what it was and what Ranma had promised her. Jotaro's eyes widened slightly.

"Ukyo," he said, "you really shouldn't eat this sauce."

"It's a memento of Ranma, sort of," countered Ukyo. "I have to taste it. And I want to know if we could have spent our lives together."

"You should really reconsider..." started Jotaro.

"Don't stop me!" snapped Ukyo. "I have a right to know!"

She put a spoon of the sauce in her mouth.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," sighed Jotaro.

Immediately, Ukyo's mouth felt as if it were on fire. The sauce was disgusting! She had the stupidest reflex ever. She swallowed it. This was a very bad idea. Immediately she had extremely violent stomach cramps.

"Ukyo!" shouted Akane. "Are you all right?"

"She can't be all right," said Jotaro. "There was no way this sauce would be good."

"How... would... you... know?" uttered Ukyo through gritted teeth.

"Because Ranma sabotaged it unwillingly," replied Jotaro evenly. Both Akane and Ukyo eyed him strangely.

"He was curious about the sauce and took the pot to taste it," elaborated Jotaro. "However, he accidentally spilled most of it and tried to reconstitute it. Since he put some bleach and petrol oil, I can only infer that it is extremely toxic. Let's bring you to the infirmary."

He and Akane thus carried a groaning Ukyo to the infirmary after Jotaro had thrown the sauce away. If they had managed to decipher them, they'd have noticed that Ukyo's moans were in fact imprecations against Ranma.

It would take her a week to get better.

* * *

"Where has Happosai been these last days?" asked Jotaro to Akane.

"He has been terrorising people in a coastal village," answered Akane. "The funny thing is that Soun and Genma were called by the inhabitants to deal with him. When he noticed then he stated loud and clear that they were his students. The villagers were so angry at that that they beat them senseless. Happosai had to be the one to bring them back home."

"Serves them right," replied Jotaro idly. "What was Happosai doing there?"

"He said something about letting the inner pervert in him roam free once in a while, lest it became rampant and made him do something he'd regret with one of us," detailed Akane.

"Good thinking," said Jotaro seriously.

* * *

"Gosunkugi is creepy," whined Akane.

"What has he done this time?" asked Jotaro.

"He used paper dolls that force the people they are put on to execute a command, a bit like your mushrooms only the order is absolute until the paper doll is torn of the person's back," explained Akane. "He tried to get me to go out with him all the morning but I noticed him and he kept missing me. There's a string of boys following him for now."

"Sounds like he got what he deserved," said Jotaro thoughtfully. "You didn't beat him up for that?"

"I wanted to but he managed to put his last doll on me and I just managed to take it off," said Akane. "It said: "Don't hate me." It thus prevented me from hitting him."

"Well, for a creepy stalker, he is strangely pure and romantic," stated Jotaro. "He could have put "Let me screw you" on his paper dolls."

Akane shivered at the prospect.

"There's only question I have," added Jotaro thoughtful. "Why didn't he ask you to go out with him on his last doll?"

At that moment, a cry of frustration and anguish was heard from a nearby bush. Jotaro and Akane eyed each other.

"I think he just realised he could have done that," said Akane with a smile. "As far as stalkers go, he is indeed essentially harmless."

Jotaro didn't comment on that.

* * *

"What the hell happened to Akane?" asked Jotaro to Happosai.

They were all working at the restaurant and Akane had some bruises and a gash on her forehead.

"I've had her train way harder than usual," replied Happosai cheerfully.

"How did you manage that?" asked Mousse. "You're training her hard enough as it is."

"I put her in a situation that she felt was familiar to a deathly one," answered Happosai.

"What the hell did you do?" asked Jotaro.

"Well, it's a funny story and I'm not even at fault, not totally at least," explained Happosai. "I found some pills of docility. They are supposed to improve the relationship between master and student. Akane took one before I finished explaining. After that she became glued to me. That's how the pill 'improves' the relationship. I explained to her that if she didn't beat me, we would remain glued for the rest of our lives. I might have added that given how perverted I was, she'd better resign herself to becoming a lesbian. She went literally berserk at that and tried to beat me with all her might. I resisted for the whole day before letting her win."

Jotaro and Mousse eyed him strangely.

"It's not nice to lie to your apprentice," stated Mousse.

"I never lied," countered Happosai. "She really had to beat me before the end of the day to free us. And given how much of a pervert I am, she would have become a lesbian had she been glued to me all the time."

"And it gave her a taste of fighting for her life since something she held dear was at stake," added Jotaro. "It is a good training. I'd almost believe that you did it by accident."

Akane froze in the room as she heard this.

"You mean you orchestrated this!" she shouted. "Happosai! Come here and take your punishment."

"She'll thank you one day," said Jotaro to Happosai. "Probably even today. Provided you let her beat you."

"I think I'll pass," said Happosai as he blanched. "She hits like a sledgehammer."

And he took off, Akane close on his heels and shouting imprecations at him.

"Think she'll forgive him?" asked Mousse to Jotaro.

"In good time," answered Jotaro. "Maybe even today. She just needs to vent her anger at having been played like that. Looks like I have to be a waiter again today."

"Taro should be here soon," replied Mousse. "He'll take this duty from you."

"How much are you willing to bet that he and Akane will go too far in one of their spars and will hurt one another so much that it will fall to us to be the waiters?" sighed Jotaro.

Mousse didn't answer. He didn't take sucker's bets.

* * *

A.N: I like Taro. He is fun, violent and straightforward, even though he is a bit of an idiot later on. I always wondered what would happen if he became Happosai's apprentice. Guess we'll find out soon.

As for the battle, scenes are shamelessly pilfered from the Dai Rai Tai Sai in the manga New Grappler Baki, especially the fight between Yuujiro Hanma and Kaku Kaioh, where the later uses Xiao-lee and hyposthenia. If you like fighting mangas, the three Baki series are a must read, even if only the later two are available in English scans (the second series has even been edited in French). Prepare to have more cameos from this series in the future.

As for Jotaro's way of flying, it was so over the top that I just couldn't not use it once the idea popped in my head. I'm still not entirely sure whether it is an original idea or one I picked somewhere.

Regarding Happosai's pill, it didn't trigger his curse when he was glued to Akane since they were attached by the head. No groping can be performed on the head, unless you have some unusual fetishes.

Next time, the Shishi Hokodan. And a few other things. For those who are wondering, Nodoka appears in chapter twenty. And for the (very) few who wonder about it, Stands will appear. I've wanted to use some for some time.


	20. Bare Grace Misery

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play 

XIX) Bare Grace Misery 

"What do you want?" asked Jotaro to Ryoga.

"I want you to fight me," said Ryoga brashly.

"No," replied Jotaro simply.

Ryoga fell on the ground at hearing that. Ranma would never have refused a fight. But then again, Jotaro was far from being Ranma and thus didn't always respond positively to Ryoga's challenges.

"No!" he shouted. "What do you mean no? How can you refuse?"

"Simply put," replied Jotaro bored, "You're too weak for me to fight. It would just be a one-sided beating, on your person I might add, and I reserve my sadistic tendencies for Genma."

"Ha!" shouted Ryoga in victory. "As if you could beat my new technique!"

"A new technique won't grant you victory," stated Jotaro with finality. "But you've piqued my curiosity. I'll indulge you. Before we go, is it a destructive technique?"

"Somewhat," answered Ryoga a bit out off. He'd never admit it to anyone, even to himself, but he missed Ranma's impulsive response to challenges. Jotaro always had to rationalize them and he managed to instil guilt into Ryoga more often than the lost boy would like to admit.

"A vacant lot it is, then," said Jotaro idly. "Follow me and keep your attention on me so as not to get lost."

Ryoga growled but followed Jotaro outside of Mikoto's house and into a nearby vacant lot. Ryoga faced Jotaro with a smirk of victory. Jotaro kept a neutral face.

"Now you'll learn how to lose!" shouted Ryoga in elation.

He then put his hands in front of him in a strange position and howled "Shishi Hokodan."

And nothing happened.

Ryoga eyed his hands disbelievingly while Jotaro remained cold as ice. Ryoga started to get so depressed that he emitted an aura.

"Why didn't it work?" he wailed. "It worked so well when I trained in it. Shishi Hokodan!"

This time something happened.

Ryoga's entire aura concentrated between his hands in a ball of sickly green energy. The ball left his hands, heading for Jotaro. Jotaro felt something in this ball and made the wisest decision. He evaded it. The ball hit the fence and pulverised it in an explosion. Had it touched him, Jotaro would have been blown away by it.

"It works!" shouted Ryoga in elation. "It really works! If you hadn't moved I would have won."

"Not necessarily," countered Jotaro. "I have several defences I can activate beside the Bakusai Tenketsu. I could have blocked it. But it was saner and safer to observe it before touching it and I have inferred several things. But first, where did you learn that?"

"I was lost and met a demolition employee in the mountains," explained Ryoga. "He saw me come from the mountain using the Bakusai Tenketsu and told me that there was a more effective technique and that by the shade of my aura I should be able to do it. I can win against you!"

"Not in this state of mind, you won't," interrupted Jotaro. "I noticed that this attack relied on emotions and, more particularly, on sadness and depression. The depression allows you to drag a monstrous quantity of ki and to imprison it in a sphere that you can propel and which explodes upon contact with something or someone. It's like using ki to contain ki, but the emotional containment doesn't consume ki so it is more effective."

"Wow, you got all that about it while seeing it once," said Ryoga startled. "I didn't know all of it. Why wouldn't it work in my state of mind?"

"Because you need to be depressed for it to work," replied Jotaro. "When you are happy and confident, like you were when you thought you would win against me, it won't work."

"Then I just have to be depressed for it to work," boasted Ryoga.

His face then fell and a sickly green aura coalesced around him. It then seeped between his hands and agglomerated in a ball that he sent to Jotaro. This time, Jotaro didn't avoid it. It exploded on him in an explosion bigger than before.

"Ha!" shouted Ryoga in elation, his depression gone. "I got you! It was even bigger than before."

"I doubt it," said a voice in the smoke. "As for why it was bigger, it might have been my fault. The technique I used to stop it causes explosions."

Ryoga eyed the smoke with disbelief until it cleared. Jotaro was standing in the middle of it, not even fazed.

"What!" shouted Ryoga. "How did you do that?"

"A forbidden technique I learnt from the Tendos' scroll," answered Jotaro. "Akane is learning it. It creates an armour of ki that is nearly unbreakable. You'd have to shed almost half of your ki in one go to go through it."

"Whatever," snorted Ryoga. "I haven't mastered the Shishi Hokodan. Once I do, I'll beat you for sure."

And with that, he went away, not heeding Jotaro's warning that the technique was dangerous to him.

* * *

"A containment matrix powered by emotions?" asked Happosai.

"Yes," answered Jotaro. "It surprised me because I hadn't thought of this but apparently emotions carry some energy that can be used. They also can conduct and contain ki, maybe even vital energy. I think I can do Ryoga's attack rather efficiently. If it can be done with any emotion, Akane and Mousse could do it."

"Could you show us?" asked Akane.

"Not here, but I could. Let's go to the nearby vacant lot," answered Jotaro.

They waited until the end of Akane's shift at the restaurant and until Mousse closed it and went out in the night. They reached the lot in a few minutes since they were too lazy this night to rush there, otherwise, they would have been here in a matter of seconds. Akane and Mousse sat on the ground while Happosai jumped on Akane's shoulder.

"The emotions can be used to create blasts of energy of various form," started to explain Jotaro. "Several techniques around the world use this aspect of emotions. The only thing most of the creators of the techniques have in the wrong is the role of the emotion the techniques are based upon. The emotion doesn't power the blast, it just guides the ki into the blast and contains it. It has very little power in itself, not enough to be used in more than firecrackers. Besides, relying on an emotion becomes dangerous. However, they are really good to channel ki. That's what has lead several people to believe that there were several types of kis assorted to different emotions. It is totally wrong. Emotions are just a guide and a container for ki, or any type of energy the body can produce, who knows. Anyway, emotions are way easier to manipulate than pure ki or vital energy. They unfortunately don't allow intricate manipulations, that's why you'll have only a reduced variety of blasts made with emotions where you can make a rocket out of pure vital energy. However it should be enough for you in the beginning since it gives you a long-ranged weapon made from your ki and emotions. Let's show you."

Jotaro put his hand in the same position as Ryoga had done and stood there. Bright yellow energy coalesced around him before being condensed into a ball and throw at the ground ten metres in front of Jotaro. It exploded there, leaving a small crater. Akane, Mousse and Happosai were suitably impressed.

"This was created while using joy as a conduit," detailed Jotaro. "The stronger the emotion, the more ki it can force out of your body. One aspect of the blast is that they clear you of the emotion you used, leaving you with a blank mind. It might seem a bit useless with joy but when you're overridden by it, it can help you to clear your mind, although there are few cases where you need to clear your mind from joy. This property of the blast is however way more useful with sadness and depression. Watch."

Jotaro's face suddenly fell. It surprised the others since they had rarely seen that, if never. Sickly green energy coalesced around him and concentrated into a ball between his hands. The ball left him and exploded in an explosion that was far more formidable than before. Jotaro's sad face left as soon as the ball left his hands, leaving his face blank. The others were suitably impressed.

"As you can see, it frees you of any detrimental emotion," added Jotaro. "Pain, sadness, depression, anger... It also works on confidence and pride. I called such blasts Moko Takabisha. It allows you to keep a clear head so it's very useful in a fight. However, you have to learn not to rely on one specific emotion too much. It makes the blasts more powerful since practising with one emotion makes the extraction of ki easier but it makes you rely on the emotion, which is detrimental since you lose the state of mind needed for a fight. It's something Ryoga doesn't realise and it will cost him in the long term. Let's teach you how to do this."

And Jotaro did just that. Happosai mastered it extremely quickly and then helped Akane and Mousse to power their emotion matrix. It was a bit harder for Mousse, who was a relatively level-headed individual. He tried channelling his love for Shampoo but it didn't work well. Akane had no real difficulties since she channelled her frustration and anger, using the ones she had against her family.

"Why doesn't my emotion work?" wondered Mousse. "Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

"Not that I can tell," replied Jotaro.

"It might just mean that the emotion you use is too weak to power a containment matrix and a channel," suggested Happosai. "You're a relatively balanced individual, so maybe you don't need the technique that much."

"But why wouldn't my love for Shampoo work?" asked Mousse.

"I have a theory but you won't like it," answered Jotaro cautiously.

"Tell me anyway," replied Mousse. "I'd like to know what is wrong with it."

"You simply don't like her enough anymore," said Jotaro. "Maybe you don't even love her."

"What!" shouted Mousse. He was about to argue but stopped with his mouth hanging open. He then started back uncertainly: "But... it can't be true... can it?"

"It is a very real possibility," noted Akane. "Maybe you only ever loved what Shampoo represented rather than her own person. She was strong, beautiful and unobtainable. Now that you're here, you've noticed that she is weaker than you, shallow and not that much intelligent. You simply fell out of love with her. As cold as it sounds, it happens."

Mousse stared wonderingly in the air. Try as he might, he couldn't say that what Akane had said was false, not without lying through his teeth at least. He realised something that he had felt but never acknowledge: he didn't love Shampoo anymore. He felt suddenly both empty and strangely elated. He told so to the others.

"Doesn't surprise me," commented Jotaro. "You feel empty because you realised you lost something that was the core of your life until now. You feel elated because your life and the happiness in it are now yours. You are a successful cook, owner of a thriving restaurant, not myopic anymore and quite knowledgeable in martial arts. And the best part is that you own it only to you and the decisions you made, not to Shampoo."

"I owe some of my happiness to you," replied Mousse with a smile.

"I was just the deciding factor," countered Jotaro. "If I disappeared you could still be happy. Thus you owe it way more to you than you owe it to me."

There was a short silence.

"I feel... more and more elated at hearing this," said Mousse eventually.

He then gathered a yellow aura around him and it coalesced between his hands before he sent the yellow resulting ball away, making a part of the fence explode.

"You did it," said Happosai proudly. "You just had to choose the best emotion for that."

"I don't want to use it too often," said Mousse with a frown. "I lost the feeling of elation I had and I don't exactly relish in a blank state of mind after that."

"Just keep in mind that you can do it in combat," replied Jotaro. "It could help you or even save your life."

"Well, we all learned to do it," said Akane with a smile. "I finally found a good way to release my frustration and anger, so it's a good day for me."

"It's not finished," said Jotaro. "There's a final form when using depression. I call it the Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. When you feel great sadness and depression, for example when someone you hold dear dies in front of you, you can release this emotion in a devastating column of ki and depression that surrounds you. It is extremely dangerous to use so unless you want to seriously hurt someone, don't use it when there are people near you."

"So it can only be used if you're extremely sad," resumed Mousse. "I think I should be glad I can't use it."

"I could probably use it if I put myself back in the state I was in when my mother died," said Akane thoughtfully.

"It probably still wouldn't be that powerful," replied Jotaro. "I tried it while focusing on my father's death and it didn't make a column that powerful. I think you have to have experienced real traumatizes to make really powerful discharges. Seeing someone die can do that."

"Mind if I try?" asked Happosai.

Jotaro eyed him critically.

"You could probably create a decent-sized column," he said cautiously. "Just wait until we are further away and fire."

Jotaro, Mousse and Akane retreated somewhat, Jotaro remaining closer to Happosai than the others. He made a sign to Happosai who nodded in return. Happosai then concentrated and sheer anguish appeared on his face. An immense volume of sickly green and black light appeared above him, surprising even Jotaro with its size. Jotaro realised that they were still under it.

"Shit," he swore before turning to Akane and Mousse. "Go back you two. I'll remain here. There's something I want to test."

Akane and Mousse retreated. Jotaro remained where he was and put his hands above him, as if he was about to stop the mass of energy with them. The mass focused in a column and Happosai's features suddenly became blank.

"Ultimate Shishi Hokodan," he said simply.

The column fell around him. Happosai wasn't touched but a twenty metre wide crater appeared around him as the column of ki fell. It dissipated soon after. Akane and Mousse looked wide-eyed at the crater, as did Happosai himself. There should be no way for Jotaro to come out of this unscathed.

Except that he had.

Jotaro still had his hands above him and had a look of intense concentration and anguish on his face. There was a space around him that looked like it had been unaffected by Happosai's attack. Jotaro then had green energy coalescing around him before firing it into a smaller Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. He then had his usual neutral face.

"I miscalculated," he simply said while frowning. "I didn't think you would go straight for the most painful memory for you. It must have hit you even harder than I thought given the ki it has allowed you to amass."

"It was," replied Happosai. "I'm impressed by the destruction I can create with this memory. I thought I had finally put it behind me but the memory of my sister's fate is still painful to me. How did you counter that?"

"It's something I just discover," answered Jotaro. "By dragging the emotion within you, you can draw ki as well and thus annul the attack or part of it. The downside is that you fill yourself with said emotion and it often requires a release, like I just did."

"It strangely looks like a vampire technique I know," noted Happosai.

Jotaro stopped. Not all the vampires he had met were bad but he still had some bad memories of Dio Brando and his henchmen. So it was natural that he became cautious when he heard the term 'vampire'.

"What do you mean by vampire technique?" he asked cautiously.

"It's a ki-draining technique I know of," answered Happosai. "I wanted to teach it to all of you but I must wait until you have finished your growths since it has several side-effects that are bothersome if you haven't finished growing up."

"A ki-draining technique?" said Akane. "Sounds useful. I can't wait to learn it. I'm impressed by the size of your Shishi Hokodan, master. I wish I could be as powerful."

"Don't be," countered, Jotaro. "The power behind the technique just means that he has seen sheer tragedy. Don't be jealous of that. I'd almost pity him but I produce worst blasts than him so I'm not in position to do so."

Akane sobered at that, as did Mousse. She had forgotten what was behind the power of the Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. Truth be told, now that she thought carefully about it, she knew she was happier not being able to perform it.

"What now?" said Happosai.

"Now I teach all of you how to counter the blasts," replied Jotaro. "Let's start."

And learn they did. It wasn't until midnight that Mousse finally learnt how to counter the blasts. Jotaro gave them some last advice before they parted.

"As useful and powerful as these blasts can be," he said warningly, "don't ever become reliant on them. It would be detrimental to you and would compel you to screw up your life immensely."

"Depends," replied Mousse. "I wouldn't mind if there was one based on sexual frustration. It could be useful."

Jotaro paused before concentrating for a minute. His skin flushed and sweat pearled on his forehead. Only Happosai noticed that he had an erection. Jotaro then put his hands in front of him. The energy associated with the blast was reddish-pink this time.

"It can be done with sexual desire at least," said Jotaro after that. "So I'm pretty sure it can be done with sexual frustration too. I'm not too fond of it though. I prefer to get rid of sexual desire in another way."

"It can still be useful in a fight," retorted Happosai. "Especially for me given how much of a pervert I am. Whenever I end up fighting a sexy girl or woman I have to reign in my urges, and it's far from easy sometimes."

Jotaro pondered the matter and nodded. It was a valid point. Akane was keeping her face blank. She'd never admit it but she might end up using it more often than not. Had Jotaro not pounded the sexual hypocrisy out of her she might have been supremely annoyed.

* * *

A week later, Ryoga found his way to the Tendos and asked for Akane. He looked thoroughly depressed but not desperate like Happosai had seemed when he had fired his Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. Akane couldn't know that he had lost his way in the sewers, in his pig form at that.

"Akane, I need your help to master the Shishi Hokodan," he said without preamble.

"It's a bad idea," replied Akane.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryoga a bit clueless.

Akane explained Jotaro's theory to him. Ryoga scoffed at that. It didn't matter to him. He had to beat Jotaro Kujo and he would do it even if it killed him.

"Doesn't matter," he finally said. "I need to beat him and I need you to do it."

"And how can I help you?" asked Akane drolly.

"I need you to tell me that you hate me," said Ryoga with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

Akane froze. She wasn't sure she had heard right.

"You want me to say to you that I hate you?" she asked incredulous.

"Please," begged Ryoga.

"Fine," sighed Akane. She then got a very hard face and looked at Ryoga dead in the eye.

"I hate you," she said firmly.

Ryoga froze and tears started to appear in his eyes. He then rushed out of the Tendos.

"I didn't need to hear that!" he cried while fleeing.

Akane was a bit dumbfounded.

"But you asked me to say it," she said dumbly. "What..."

Suddenly, a column of sickly green ki appeared in the sky. Akane stared at it. Then she remembered. Ryoga was in love with her. That was why he had asked her to tell him she hated him. He wanted to be depressed enough to perform the Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. She wasn't worried for Jotaro, however. It might have been an Ultimate Shishi Hokodan but it still had been way smaller than Happosai's and Jotaro had countered this one.

She decided to warn him all the same. Ryoga could do some extensive damage to the place he was fighting in.

* * *

The day after tomorrow, Ryoga found his way to Furinkan's yard. He decided to challenge Jotaro on the spot.

"JOTARO KUJO!" he shouted. "COME AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

Students around him eyed him as if he's lost reason. Who would challenge Jotaro "The Frost Emperor" Kujo to a fight?

"What's your problem Ryoga?" asked a feminine voice lazily yet incisively.

Ryoga turned around. Jotaro was eyeing him neutrally in her female form.

"Shut up and fight, you coward!" Ryoga shouted back.

The students stared. This suicidal man wanted to defy the Ice Bitch? He was even crazier than they thought. The Ice Bitch was even more ruthless and vicious than the Frost Emperor.

"Yare yare daze," she said lazily. She got into her usual neutral stance with her hands in her pockets.

"Take that! Shishi Hokodan!" shouted Ryoga.

A ball of sickly green energy left his hands and rushed at Jotaro. Jotaro lazily put her hands in front of her and bright blue energy coalesced between them before rushing at Ryoga's blast and countering it in a violent explosion. Jotaro noticed that Akane was getting the students away and smiled. Happosai's student had taken her advice at heart. Now she could let loose.

"Moko Takabisha," she said simply. "It works like the Shishi Hokodan but uses confidence and pride instead of depression."

"You countered that," said Ryoga with a sad face. "It makes me so depressed. Shishi Hokodan!"

Another ball of sickly green ki rushed at Jotaro. This time she countered with a ball of red energy.

"This one was done with anger and rage," she said.

Ryoga threw another Shishi Hokodan that Jotaro countered with a ball of yellow energy.

"This one was done with joy and elation," she said.

This continued for a while until Jotaro countered a Shishi Hokodan with a ball of reddish-pink energy.

"And this one was made out of lust and sexual desire," she said neutrally.

Ryoga actually fell on the ground in surprise. Several of the students blushed at hearing that. They should have been used to this. Jotaro and her brother were famous at Furinkan for being extremely open on such matters. And Akane didn't even punch them for being openly perverted. Life just wasn't fair!

"WHAT ARE YOU USING TO FIGHT, YOU PERVERT!" shouted Ryoga.

"Well, it's an emotion like any other," Jotaro shot back unabashed. "Besides I've seen you naked and I liked what I saw."

Ryoga got wide eyes before his face fell. A mass of sickly green ki hovered above him.

"PERFECT SHISHI HOKODAN!" he shouted.

The mass of ki shaped into a column and crashed around him, making a crater of about six metres of diameter. It was still not enough to touch Jotaro who hadn't even moved. Ryoga appeared at the centre of the crater, untouched. The students and teachers all stared at the destruction wrought by the column.

"I'm going to beat you with this," said Ryoga triumphantly.

"You got something of this magnitude just by getting Akane telling you that she hated you," said Jotaro. "It's both extremely pathetic and impressive that you got a blast of this magnitude with just that. You still didn't touch me."

"Shut up!" shouted Ryoga. He jumped a metre away from Jotaro and let the green energy coalesce above him. His face fell down in depression.

"PERFECT SHISHI HOKODAN!" he shouted.

The column crashed on Jotaro this time. Ryoga eyed the crater around him triumphantly, while the students stared in horror, pretty sure that Jotaro was at the very least hurt by that.

"I did it!" shouted Ryoga in elation. "I beat her!"

"I doubt that," said a voice loudly in the crater.

Ryoga eyed the fuming crater in disbelief. It couldn't be...

The smoke dissipated and revealed Jotaro with her hands above her. She had a frown on her face, proof to Akane that she had absorbed Ryoga's depression. It wasn't anywhere near close to Happosai's. Jotaro was totally unscathed. Her clothes weren't even singed.

"Wha-What!" stammered Ryoga. "It can't be... How..?"

"I absorbed your depression and the part of your ki that was about to touch me," replied Jotaro. "Even if I hadn't done that, your Shishi Hokodan wouldn't have hurt me. You rely on egoistic sadness. It's nowhere enough to hurt me. Let me show you real anguish."

She let her hands fall. Her face showed anguish.

"I remember when Kakyoin sacrificed his life to tell us how to vanquish Dio Brando," she whispered.

Her face fell further. Green energy coalesced around her body.

"I remember when Dio murdered my grandfather in front of me," she continued in a low voice.

The green energy started to amass above them.

"I remember when Koichi was nearly killed by Yoshikage Kira," she pursued.

The mass of green energy became wider and wider, much to Ryoga's fear.

"I remember when my daughter was framed for murder and almost killed in prison," added Jotaro.

The mass of ki shaped itself into a monstrous column that got the students wide eyed. The column was easily forty metres wide now.

"I remember when my daughter was mortally wounded and when the world crashed around us," added Jotaro in a whisper with tears in her eyes.

Only Ryoga could hear her and it scared him witless. The column grew more. Ryoga would never be able to escape it.

"I couldn't save her," muttered Jotaro in anguish as she lowered her head. "I couldn't save anyone. They all died. Ultimate Shishi Hokodan."

The last part was just a whisper. The column of green energy crashed around Jotaro, grinding Ryoga into the ground. The shockwave made the school tremble. All of its windows shattered and more than a few walls cracked. A small earthquake would be recorded in a seismic station nearby, causing an alert. Of all the students and teachers around, only Akane remained standing despite the shockwave and the resulting wind. The students got back on their feet and looked as the smoke dissipated.

Jotaro was standing in a fifty metre wide crater that was at least five metres deep at its most. Ryoga's battered and bruised form was seen near her. Jotaro had no damage whatsoever and had a stony face. Two tear tracks could be seen beneath her eyes. She wiped them lazily, removing all traces that she had ever cried. She still didn't like remembering these moments. Akane climbed down the crater.

"Is he dead?" she asked a bit afraid while pointing at Ryoga's form.

"Just unconscious with bruises and a few broken ribs," stated Jotaro. "Knowing that he is insanely tough and underwent the Bakusai Tenketsu training, I don't want to know what would happen to a more normal person."

"Your anguish is scary," stated Akane. "I'm not sure I want to know what caused it."

"Maybe I'll tell you one day," replied Jotaro.

Ryoga groaned and woke up. He looked around him stupidly and tried to go up but stopped when his broken ribs sent pain signals to his brain.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You were crushed by an Ultimate Shishi Hokodan I powered up with the anguish caused by my worst memories," answered Jotaro. "You've heard what it takes to feel real anguish."

Ryoga eyed her with wide eyes.

"You mean all the things you said were true?" he said astonished.

"Totally," replied Jotaro. "You now know what it takes to perform an Ultimate Shishi Hokodan. Trust me, it's not worth it."

"Damn," muttered Ryoga. "And I thought I knew pain..."

"You're nowhere near enough to real pain and you don't want to be," said Jotaro with finality. "Don't use the Shishi Hokodan too much. It won't bring you anything but pain and suffering. It's not worth it."

Ryoga eyed Jotaro in a new light. This man, woman, whatever... carried the burden of such tragedies and still managed to live on. She stood proud and true in front of all the obstacles despite the horrors she had seen. He eyed her with respect. He wanted to be as true and brave as she was. But for that, he had a lie to reveal. It had gone on for too long. He had wanted to reveal it after he had beaten Jotaro but he was now conscious that he would never beat her.

"Could you bring me in a desert place with water nearby?" he asked to Jotaro while looking at Akane. "I have something to tell her."

"Sure," replied Jotaro. "I carry water on me. I can bring you to a nearby vacant lot."

"What do you have to tell me?" asked Akane curious.

"I'd rather not say it where anybody can hear it," answered Ryoga. "Plus, it's likely to make you angry."

Akane was instantly on guard at that and frowned. She had become rather level-headed as of late. Either Ryoga hadn't noticed, which wasn't that far-fetched, or he had something really unpleasant to confess.

"Well, let's go then," said Jotaro.

She lead Akane and Ryoga to a nearby vacant lot (there seemed to be a lot of them in Nerima, she wondered why). She was wearing Ryoga's pack since Ryoga was still quite hurt, although he seemed better. As they arrived to the vacant lot, Ryoga asked for cold water to Jotaro.

"Why would you need water?" asked Akane. "Apart for activating a Jusenkyo curse, I don't know what you could use it for."

Jotaro was in the process of giving water to Ryoga when what Akane had said registered. She looked at Ryoga who was sweating slightly, visibly ill-at-ease, before turning to Akane.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked her dumbfounded.

"No, she doesn't," answered Ryoga at her place. "Otherwise she would have kicked me out long before."

"I thought she was just playing an elaborate prank on you and me," said Jotaro. "I mean, your curse is so obvious."

"What are you talking about?" asked Akane, not following. "Ryoga has a curse?"

"A Jusenkyo curse, as well as his directional curse," answered Jotaro. "And you've known his cursed form for a long time. It didn't even occur to me that you didn't know."

"What!" exclaimed Akane. "What do you mean I know his curse form?"

"You know of a being that wears the same bandanna as he does," replied Jotaro.

Akane frowned before her eyes went wide in recognition. It couldn't be...

"You call my cursed form P-Chan," said Ryoga nervously before emptying the water Jotaro had given him on his body.

He immediately shrank and disappeared in his clothes. Shortly after and under Akane's flabbergasted gaze, P-Chan emerged. Akane eyed him with wide eyes before her face got hard and red energy coalesced around her.

"Release it, Akane," ordered Jotaro.

Akane nodded and turned away from Ryoga. The red energy coalesced between her hands and she shouted as it flew from it and exploded on the ground ten metres away from her. Her face lost its hard edge but she was still frowning. She turned to P-Chan.

"Turn back and explain why you didn't tell me sooner," she demanded harshly.

Jotaro took a canteen of hot water and splashed Ryoga who turned into his naked human form. He put back his clothes and sighed.

"It's not exactly a good explanation, at least I don't think so," he said sadly. "I don't think any explanation would be good for lying to you like that. But it's the only explanation I have. Tell me, do you remember how many times your mother or father took you into their arms?"

"Not exactly," answered Jotaro. "Too many times, that's the only thing I'm sure of."

"Not nearly as much as I wanted but I don't remember exactly how many," replied Akane.

"I do remember," said Ryoga with a sigh. "My mother took me three times in her arms and my father only once. That's the most companionship I've ever felt. Since I get lost so easily, I never had any friends. As much as it irritates me to admit that, Ranma Saotome, despite his insults and taunting, is the closest thing I ever had to a friend. I'm lonely."

Akane and Jotaro didn't say anything to Ryoga. They didn't need to. They were seeing a part of him they had never known about and it was a sad one.

"At least I was until Jotaro threw me away when he found I was P-Chan," continued Ryoga. "I fell into a girl's room in my pig form and a girl found me cute and took me in her arms. It had been nine years, three months and twelve days since anybody had taken me in his or her arms. Nine fucking years."

Akane didn't say anything. She had been angry but what could she answer to that?

"For nearly the first time since nine years, I felt happy and secure," pursued Ryoga. "I wanted this feeling to last as long as it could. But it wouldn't if the girl knew I was human. Besides, in my human form she was somewhat friendly to me. She didn't mock me at least. That's why I never dared tell anything. I noticed that she seemed to like someone and I became jealous. I decided to vanquish that person and tell her that I was her pet pig after that. But I couldn't beat that person. She stood and endured anything I threw at her. The worst part is that despite how hurtful I was, or tried to be, to her, that person never hurt me maliciously. She only defended herself despite the fact that I attacked her without warning. Today, I learned that that person lead a harsher life than me but still managed to remain firm, proud and true despite this. She doesn't wallow in self-pity. I want to be somewhat like her. That's why I had to come clean with this secret."

He finished with his head down. Akane and Jotaro remained silent for some time. Jotaro decided to break the ice.

"You know you can use less harmful emotions to create a ki blast," said Jotaro. "You can also use such blast to purge the emotions from you and get back your balance in a fight."

"Just be mindful that some people, like Jotaro and me, can throw back such blasts at you," added Akane. "You should learn to do the same and learn not to aim the blasts directly at your opponent. It's surer that way."

Ryoga looked at them, dumbfounded and hopeful.

"You don't hate me?" he asked eagerly.

"Why would I hate you?" asked Jotaro back. "You've never been a credible threat to me and you're fun to tease."

"I was a bit angry that you didn't tell me about your curse sooner," added Akane. "But, contrary to what you think, your reason not to tell me is actually a very good one. Just a warning though. If I see you in my bed in your pig form ever again, I'm bringing you to a vet to be neutered."

Ryoga blanched.

"You wouldn't dare!" he said nervously.

"Want to find out?" she asked with a smirk.

"Not really, no," replied Ryoga hastily.

"You're not that used to this version of Akane," said Jotaro with a smirk. "She has an extremely disturbing sense of humour. Even I can't tell when she's joking and when she is serious. If I were you I'd be cautious."

Ryoga nodded. Then he eyed her with a curious look.

"Why are you revealing such a strange character to me so late?" he asked.

"Because that's what friends do," replied Akane.

"We are friends?" asked Ryoga with wonder and hope.

"You doubted it?" snorted Jotaro. "You're denser than I thought. Just for you to know, friends tend to tease each other. That means I'm you friend too."

Ryoga didn't know what to say. He had longed for friends nearly all his life and the two very people who reason to hate him wanted to be his friends instead. It was too much for him and he cried in happiness.

* * *

Two hours later, they were discussing with Ryoga. He had told them some of the sights he had seen and in return, Akane had talked about how she had lived and the mind games she liked to play. Jotaro's story had been far more interesting. Until now, Akane hadn't believed he had had a daughter. The way his face looked when he talked about her made her wish she would have children one day. They finished by talking about inane things.

"So how many times have you looked at me when I was changing?" asked Akane to Ryoga, curious now that her rage at the fact had dissipated.

"Actually, none," answered Ryoga sheepishly. "Remember the time you found me unconscious in a puddle of blood? I fainted with a nosebleed as soon as I saw your bra. I have never tried looking anymore after that."

Akane and Jotaro looked at him oddly.

"You fainted after seeing her only in a bra?" asked Jotaro.

"Yes," said Ryoga shamefully.

"Well, it seems that you are shy on a level that is still unparalleled," said Jotaro while Akane was laughing lightly. "I will have to introduce you to the wonderful world of porn. Else you'll never manage to keep a girlfriend."

"Hey!" shouted Ryoga. "I'm not that bad." He then paused wonderingly. "What's porn?"

Akane and Jotaro looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. Then Akane had the most logical reaction given the circumstances.

"!" she laughed with all her might. Jotaro sighed.

"You have a long way to go, young grasshopper," he said to Ryoga.

Ryoga looked at Jotaro who was eyeing him neutrally and to Akane who was laughing uproariously. He wondered what he had gotten himself into with such friends.

* * *

Shampoo was currently riding her bicycle to an old temple. She had a ramen delivery to make there. She wondered briefly who might have done that since she didn't think that anyone lived there but if they were paying she didn't have any ground to complain.

As she crossed the entrance she was doused with cold water. She shrieked angrily as she shrank in her clothes and her shriek evolved into angry mewls. She got rid of the clothes that were smothering her and looked around. Her ramen was spilled on the ground. She would have to beat up the little upstart who had doused her with water, if there was a little upstart and it wasn't a freak accident involving a broken pipe that is.

"Nyow, I finally got you now," said an unpleasantly familiar voice behind her.

Shampoo turned her head slowly. Sure enough, Maomorin the ghost cat was behind her, a bucket of water lying near him on the ground. He was chanting something while tendrils of magic were coalescing between its paws. Shampoo didn't have the time to mewl as the light shone brightly as Maomorin finished its chant. Shampoo felt something change within her and she knew she was in trouble.

* * *

"My great-granddaughter disappeared," said Cologne imperiously to Jotaro without preamble. "Find her!"

"And so," said Jotaro obliviously to Mousse, Akane and Happosai, "I showed Ryoga a few porn videos featuring myself. He fainted during the first minute. Now he can last a full twenty minutes of hardcore sex before suffering from nosebleeds but it wasn't easy to get to that point."

"Doesn't it bother your girlfriend that you're showing videos of you having sex to anybody?" asked Akane.

"I explained Ryoga's case to her and she approved of my idea, although she wanted to be here for it," retorted Jotaro. "She was rolling on the ground in laughter the first time she saw how shy Ryoga was, let me tell you."

"I can imagine," laughed Happosai. "I did the same thing."

"There's no need to force him to watch your sexual feats," tempered Mousse. "You could have just bought him porn magazines instead of showing him your tapes."

"You're saying that out of jealousy, Mu Tsu," replied Jotaro. "You just wish that you could be the one seeing it."

"Am not!" answered Mousse indignantly.

"As if," replied Jotaro. "I dare you to tell me that you wouldn't be interested by some hot lesbian action between me and a hot babe."

Mousse prepared to answer before closing his mouth.

"Did you say lesbian action?" he asked, trying (and failing) to mask his obvious interest.

"I did," answered Jotaro neutrally. "Sadly, I can't show it to you without asking my girlfriend if she's okay with that, and I can't promise you she will be."

Mousse pouted.

"WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT!" shouted Cologne at wits end.

Jotaro turned to her and eyed her neutrally. Happosai did the same. She was used to such unafraid gazes so she didn't think anything about it. What irked her was that Mousse and Akane had the same gazes. As if these brats had anything on her!

"Khu Lon," said Jotaro neutrally. "To what do I owe the displeasure of talking to you? Don't you know it is impolite to interrupt a conversation?"

Cologne gritted her teeth but didn't answer. She knew her great-granddaughter was in trouble and wanted Jotaro to save her so as to make him fall for her. It wasn't the best-thought plan and she knew it but she was at wits' end and didn't know what to do anymore. If she didn't hook Jotaro with Shampoo, both of them would remain outcasts from the tribe. It would be hard since he had a girlfriend but not impossible. She just didn't want to hurt the young woman. She tried to persuade herself that it wasn't because Jotaro would most assuredly slaughter her and anyone close to her but she was having difficulties.

"My great-granddaughter disappeared this morning and hasn't come back yet," she simply said. If she hoped for some sympathy, she was going to be sorely disappointed.

"And I should care why?" asked Jotaro bored.

"Aren't you at least a little bit upset?" Cologne asked back.

"Why should I?" answered Jotaro. "She probably just found someone to shag and didn't notice how much time has gone by."

"My great-granddaughter isn't like that!" snarled Cologne.

"You don't actually know that," countered Mousse. "After all, you know me as hopelessly in love with Shampoo, which I'm actually not anymore. According to this reasoning, Shampoo could be a major slut and you wouldn't know about it. You just see what you want to see"

Cologne looked at him with wide eyes. She had thought that Mousse was still in love with Shampoo. She had been wrong. But if she had been wrong about that, what was she wrong about? She preferred not to dwell too much on it.

"She could also be in the hands of a rapist or a deranged madman," seethed Cologne. "It wouldn't be the first time," she added while sending a pointed look at Jotaro.

Jotaro mused on that a little.

"Well, it's been a while since I last killed a rapist or a pimp, so why not?" he said idly, much to Cologne's dismay.

"You don't care what happens to my great-granddaughter?" she asked sharply.

"After all the things I've done to her, you still need to ask?" asked Jotaro drolly.

"So you actually like to torment Shampoo?" asked Mousse with a calm Cologne wouldn't have thought him capable of. "Why is that?"

"It's my inner sadist who likes it," replied Jotaro. "When I see the desperate glimmer in her eyes and the fear that she feels when I'm near her, I can't help but feel powerful and I find this feeling wonderful."

"You've got a somewhat sick and disturbed mind, Jotaro," said Akane with a straight face. "Anyone ever told you that?"

"And I'm your best friend," countered Jotaro. "That says an awful lot about your own mind."

"I never said it was a bad thing," replied Akane. "And I actually know I'm twisted. My family made me that way. I didn't know if you knew you were, that's all."

Mousse eyed Happosai with a serious gaze.

"You realize that your pupils are slightly psychopathic, don't you?" he asked evenly.

"I realize," replied Happosai while puffing on his pipe. "Then I also realize that they are like that without my help and I can sleep peacefully at night."

"Well, suit yourself," retorted Mousse. "They _are_ funny."

Cologne looked at the byplay with hopeless eyes and wondered if it was such a good idea to leave the fate of her great-granddaughter to such insane people. It probably wasn't but she was nothing if not stubborn.

"Are you going to save my great-granddaughter or not?" she asked impatiently.

"I'm going to check if by following her I might found someone I can kill," answered Jotaro idly. "There's a difference."

"Can't come," said Akane. "My shift is coming."

"And I have to cook," added Mousse.

"I've got nothing better to do," said Happosai with a shrug before hopping on Jotaro's shoulder. "Let's go."

Cologne watched the demonic duo (as she had dubbed them) go out of the Jusenkyohanten and once again wondered about the sanity of her decision. Seeing who was going to rescue her, Shampoo might very well choose to remain with her captor.

* * *

"So she is in this temple?" asked Jotaro to Happosai.

"I'm sure," he answered. "I sensed her ki here. She is within twenty metres."

"I wonder why Khu Lon didn't think of this," mused Jotaro.

"She can't sense ki as subtly as I can," replied Happosai. "It's a side-effect of my curse, I can distinguish the ki of any woman I groped easily."

"Useful skill, that one," admitted Jotaro. "I can just tell that there are people nearby, not who they are, unless I have clues."

"It only works on women," countered Happosai. "I can't distinguish you in your male form, for example. So it's actually limited."

"Too bad," added Jotaro. "Well, let's find out what happened to Xian Pu."

They went near the entrance and noticed Shampoo who was looking at said entrance longingly. She then saw Jotaro and Happosai and got a nervous look on her face. Jotaro saw her and eyed her neutrally.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a curious tone. "For that matter, why aren't you coming out?"

Shampoo sighed and crossed the threshold. She immediately turned into her cursed form. She mewled piteously before going back inside while carrying her clothes in her mouth. She transformed as soon as she crossed the threshold of the temple again and put her clothes back. Jotaro and Happosai arched an eyebrow each. They were so similar that it was scary.

"What made you this way, Xian Pu?" asked Happosai curious.

"Is Maomorin," answered the clearly unhappy girl. "Cast a spell at Shampoo. Shampoo cannot go out of temple without turning cat. Shampoo will become cat forever if not kissed by man before bell here rang one hundred and eight times."

"And after that, she will become a cat and my wife for eternity, nyow," added the ghost cat as it phased near Shampoo with a wide grin.

Jotaro eyed it dumbly, then muttered: "Jotaro Rocket Strike" before shouting: "Fire in the hole!" The rocket dashed at Maomorin and exploded on it. The cat flew away while mewling painfully. Shampoo eyed Jotaro with wide eyes. She had never seen that attack.

"Damn it," growled Jotaro. "It's already dead, I can't kill it."

"But you can hurt it," added Happosai wisely. Jotaro stood straighter and looked at Happosai before turning towards Maomorin and smiling like a predator.

"Nyow?" uttered Maomorin pitifully.

Two rockets appeared in Jotaro's hands and chased the ghost cat.

"NYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!" it howled before fleeing. The rockets didn't touch it but they burnt it.

"Come back here so I can torture you some more!" shouted Jotaro while he chased the giant cat.

At that moment, the bell rang one time, the first of one hundred and eight. Cat ears appeared on Shampoo's head, making her hand dash up there before she screamed in horror.

"Shampoo need kiss quick!" she shouted at Jotaro.

"He's enjoying himself too much to pay attention to you," said Happosai drolly. "I don't think it would bother him if you became a cat for good. He just wanted to kill a supposed kidnapper. Now he gets to enjoy one that doesn't die."

Shampoo turned to Happosai desperately.

"Can Shampoo kiss old pervert?" she begged. Happosai blinked before smiling.

"I never thought you'd ask," he answered happily.

He leaned in for a kiss. Shampoo didn't even hesitate in front of this wrinkled face and kissed him fully on the mouth. Since she didn't want to take any chance she even used her tongue, much to Happosai's delight. Light erupted from her before receding. When Shampoo was visible again, she didn't have cat ears anymore. She crossed the threshold of the temple and nothing happened. She sighed in relief.

"Shampoo thank you," she told Happosai sincerely. "Shampoo not know what Shampoo do if cat for rest of life."

"It was my pleasure," replied Happosai, before adding lecherously: "In more ways than one. You are quite daring, young girl. Putting your tongue and all..."

Shampoo blushed. She'd rather forget it. Although if she was honest with herself, she had rather liked the kiss. Too bad it had been with Happosai. Then again, she had once kissed her great-grandmother several times when Jotaro had made her eat her own mushrooms.

"If that's all, you should go back to the Nekohanten," continued Happosai. "Your great-grandmother was quite worried about you."

"Not enough to fetch Shampoo herself," added Shampoo darkly.

"Well, that's the Amazon way," replied Happosai idly. "And you wondered why Jotaro and I despised it? Speaking of which, I should get him and go back."

At that moment, Maomorin rushed in front of them, quite the worse for wear, followed by a ki-rocket wielding Jotaro with a manic grin.

"You can run but you can't hide!" he shouted in a supernaturally dead tone that would appear gleeful to those who knew him. "Jotaro Rocket Strike! Fire in the hole!"

"NYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" wailed the ghost cat.

Happosai blinked.

"Well, he seems to be enjoying himself," he eventually said. "I should let him."

"Shampoo remain a little," said the purple-haired girl. "Want to see Maomorin suffer."

"Suit yourself," replied Happosai. "I'm off."

And off he went, hearing sometimes piteous wails coming from the ghost cat.

* * *

Michiru collapsed boneless near a female Jotaro. Both of them were naked in Michiru's bed and had had several hours of sex. Michiru wondered if Jotaro's stamina even had an end. She had come a long way (no pun intended) from the time when she was barely able to last one hour against her but she didn't think she would ever catch up to her. Jotaro was sometimes inhuman like that.

"Anything interesting happened recently?" she asked while she snuggled into Jotaro.

"Since the ghost cat kidnapped Xian Pu?" answered Jotaro. "Well, I had a play date with the spirit of a very old man."

Michiru raised her two eyebrows. The way Jotaro explained it, it didn't even occur to her to be jealous. Then again, she didn't feel she had a right to be. Until they pledged themselves to one another, she wouldn't have a right to be. She loved Jotaro with all her heart but she knew that she was waiting for something. Jotaro knew too and respected that.

"Run that by me again?" she just asked curious.

"There was a spirit haunting my dreams recently," explained Jotaro with a smile. "Turns out it was the soul of an old man, called Harumaki, who's locked in a hospital. He felt that he was about to die and since I remembered him of his first love, he asked me for a date. I indulged and followed him around. He wanted to see the cherry trees he had seen with his first love before they eloped but they had been uprooted. Since he was sad, I brought him in Juuban Park and he was deliriously happy to see the park. I managed to track him down after the date ended and it turns out that he miraculously recovered. He plans to take his wife to Juuban Park as soon as he is out."

"A bit callous of him to be obsessed by his first love when he has a wife," noted Michiru.

"Not if the wife in question is said first love," countered Jotaro. "Her name was Gyoko. If I'm not mistaken, he was so close to death that he only remembered her the way she was when she was young. He sounded deliriously happy when he saw her in the hospital. It was quite romantic, really."

"Most people would flip if they knew you to be romantic," said Michiru with a laugh. Jotaro eyed her sharply.

"Just for that comment, we go on another round," she said while grabbing Michiru in places that made her spine tingle.

"What!" she protested. "I can't go on anymore. I'm going to faint!"

"That's the general idea," replied Jotaro before kissing her.

Michiru wouldn't be the last one standing this night.

* * *

"And why should I help you?" asked a male Jotaro to Kuno.

Kuno gritted his teeth. He had accosted Jotaro in the classroom to demand his help. It seemed that it would be harder to get than he had anticipated.

"I destroyed my twisted sister's photo of the knave Ryoga Hibiki when we had an argument," explained Kuno imperiously. "Since then she has stolen my album of the pigtailed goddess that is your sister and the fierce tigress Akane Tendo. I want to have it back. All I need is a few photographs of you to barter my album."

Kuno then took a camera from his bag but Jotaro immediately destroyed it. Kuno looked at him dumbly.

"If you think I'm letting you take photos of me for your deranged lunatic of a sister, you are mistaken to the point of being delusional," said Jotaro neutrally.

Kuno gritted his teeth again. Well, no matter. Gosunkugi still had the photos taken when they had tried to find Jotaro's weaknesses.

"And I took the liberty to take all of Gosunkugi's photos," added Jotaro. "And if you think you are going to appeal to me by pointing out that your sister has my sister's photos, you are a pathetic liar. There are no photos of my sister available, she made sure of that."

Kuno growled. He didn't want to deal with his sister unarmed. Now it seemed that he would have to apologize to her. He wasn't looking forward to it.

This night, Kuno burnt more pictures of Ryoga in his sister's room. Kodachi decided to enact her revenge the next day. She went to Furinkan and distributed pictures showing her brother with his pigtailed goddess. Except that since she didn't have any photos of Jotaro's female form, she had drawn her in a provocative outfit. She thought that her brother would excuse himself after such a slur but all Kuno did was complain that it wasn't a real photograph. Jotaro arrived and took one photograph. He looked at it sharply while Akane collapsed in laughter. He then _moved_. Kuno and his sister soon lost the use of their body and collapsed boneless on the ground. They could still move their head but that was it.

"I don't exactly bother to interfere into siblings' quarrels usually," he said neutrally. "However, you've both included my sister and me into it and it pisses me off. I am thus going to force you to reconcile. Keep in mind that you deserved it."

Jotaro then took a camera and took several pictures of both of them before pulling a strange rectangular device from... somewhere and opening it. Few people had ever seen Jotaro's laptop. Kuno started to look afraid, very afraid. His sister noticed this.

"Why are you so afraid, brother dearest?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"You are blinded by your love for him," replied Kuno sharply. "You don't know how dangerous and vicious he is."

"Humph, as if one of my true loves would do something to my nubile body before even tasting it," said Kodachi haughtily. "Although I wouldn't mind..."

"It wouldn't bother you, that's why I won't do it," said Jotaro sharply. "But I can damage both of your reputations beyond repair and as such I will do it."

He then printed several pictures while Akane looked at the scene curiously. Kuno was scared by now. He had seen what Jotaro did to some reputations. Kodachi eyed him quizzically. Jotaro then took the pack of pictures in his hands and got ready to shout.

"ATTENTION EVERYBODY!" he shouted. "SPECIAL PHOTOS OF THE TRYST OF THE KUNO SIBLINGS AVAILABLE FOR FIVE HUNDRED YENS."

Kuno's eyes bugged out. Students began to flock towards Jotaro to buy pictures. Most of those who did eyed the Kuno siblings while laughing. Kodachi was quite clueless but she didn't like the sound of it.

"It's bad," said Kuno. "The last time he tarnished someone's reputation he put nude photos of her on her restaurant. I wonder what he did with us."

Akane then went to them with a photo and knelt in front of the Kuno siblings.

"I feel sorry for you, I really do," she said with a smile that denied her speech. "Jotaro had crushed your reputation with that."

And she showed them the photo, making them scream indignantly. On the photograph the two siblings were under bed covers so thin that they easily showed that they were both naked underneath given the way they hugged their bodies. The Kunos were in each other's arm and kissing languidly. The photo showed that they went as far as using tongues. And from the position of their hands their strokes were anything but innocent.

"It isn't true!" shouted Kodachi. "I never had such relations with my own brother!"

"Well, Jotaro knows that but other people don't," said Akane idly. "Your reputation is pretty much shot. I would avoid bothering him from now. He can probably do worse than that." She then noticed that Jotaro was going away. "Where are you going?"

"To Saint Hebereke," answered Jotaro. "I'm pretty sure that a lot of Kodachi's fellow students will be extremely interested by this picture."

Kodachi's eyes widened and she tried her hardest to move and stop Jotaro but she couldn't do anything. She was reduced to screaming obscenities that definitely weren't fit for someone of her station. It didn't stop Jotaro either. It would be a week until she dared go to her school. By then, she would learn that Jotaro had never gone there and would swear on her last name that she wouldn't cross him or his sister ever again.

* * *

Genma was wondering for once instead of eating, surprising most of the Tendos. His only son was becoming extremely good. Well, said son had rejected him and taken another name but he was still his son. Genma hadn't managed to beat him for a long time. Each time Genma had tried to beat sense into the boy, he had ended in the hospital. He had even used the forbidden techniques against him but the boy had countered them and learnt them on the spot. He had even learnt the Tendos' forbidden techniques and knew several of the dreaded master's technique. He had to be honest with himself. He rose from the table and took a dramatic pose, much to the Tendos' confusion.

"It should be impossible but I have to acknowledge it!" he shouted with emphasis. "I am now weaker than Ranma!"

Everyone eyed him as if he had grown a second head. Akane was the first to speak.

"You must be pathetic if a corpse is better than you," she simply said.

Everybody save Happosai fell on the ground when they heard that. Genma was immediately back up.

"Stupid girl!" shouted Genma. "My son isn't dead!"

"Well, he is," said Akane neutrally while Happosai agreed. "He has been dead since you came here. You were even the one who killed him. It's not my fault if you don't want to admit it."

"As for being weaker than Jotaro," started Happosai before taking a clueless gaze. "You mean you didn't know yet? I have known since I met him. You must be the only other person who thought otherwise. Besides, Jotaro isn't the only one stronger than you. Akane is too."

"What could a weak little girl like her do against me?" scoffed Genma.

"Go to the Dojo and we will fight to prove it," said Akane neutrally enough but with a hint of anger only Happosai noticed.

"I don't fight girls," replied Genma satisfyingly as if it would close the debate. Unfortunately for him it didn't.

"Typical response from people lacking in manliness," said Akane neutrally. "They boast about it and demean women just to hide the fact that they in fact are far from manly."

"I am manly enough, little girl," growled Genma, clearly angry at the slur against his manliness.

"Such people lie so much that they are the first victims of their lies and don't realise that they are not manly. It denotes a repressed homosexuality," finished Akane as Genma grew more and more angry. Before he could utter a scathing remark however, he was interrupted by Happosai.

"It's true that he was always even less enthusiastic as Soun when we went on underwear chase," he mused aloud. "And while I saw Soun bragging to women, Genma never did the same, as if he were scared of them. But I never thought that he could be homosexual. Maybe there's more to the looks he always sent to Soun."

Soun eyed Genma fearfully. Genma was even more incensed.

"But he had a son with a woman," objected Kasumi. "How could a homosexual do that?"

"It happens way more often than you would think," explained Akane. "Lots of homosexual men marry women and have children, not willing to recognize their true nature. They lie to themselves and to their partners. And sometimes they decide to fuck it and leave said women to go out with men. I would worry if I were you, Dad. Genma seems to be intent on remaining with you."

"Well, he did leave his wife more than a decade ago and he never speaks of her," mused Nabiki. "I wonder why exactly he wanted to be alone with Ranma for so long."

Genma was apoplectic by then. He turned a burning gaze to Akane.

"You! In the Dojo! NOW!" he shouted before exiting the area.

Akane rose sedately and prepared to follow. She noticed her father was still pale and decided to play with him a little more.

"I'm not actually sure that Genma is a repressed homosexual," she said idly. "I mostly told that since I knew it would get him moving. But I'm not sure he isn't either. If I were you, dad, I'd watch my back."

Soun gave out a strangled sob when he heard that. He was extremely attached to his friendship with Genma but if Genma had ulterior motives...

He would give him the benefit of the doubt but he would watch his back. Nobody had ever called Soun tolerant. As Jotaro had proved before, the man had a fear of homosexuals. He couldn't even remember why he had it. Probably a bad experience with a transvestite.

Akane went to the Dojo at a sedate pace, where Genma was waiting. Genma was intently focused on her, waiting for her to get ready. He wouldn't hurt her, it wasn't his style. But he would take her down a peg, that was for sure. Akane stood in front of him in a ready stance while the others sat to observe the match.

"Ready?" she asked. Genma nodded grimly. "Then let's begin."

Genma immediately dashed at her. Akane noticed that he wanted to perform a hold on her and immediately counter-attacked with several punches. Genma blocked all but one that impacted his torso, making him grunt. Akane noticed as she hit him that he was intent on performing his hold and decided that she might as well see what it did, even if it was dangerous for her. After all, she knew that Genma wouldn't hurt her badly. Genma grabbed her and encircled her with all his limbs and ground himself against her. Akane was frozen in his arms, sensibly repulsed.

"I reserved that technique for my son," boasted Genma. "It is called the Cradle of Hell."

"It's rather ingenious," commented Happosai. "Ranma loathed his father and would be totally defeated if he showed affection to him like that. Genma has a knack for unpredictable techniques. Too bad it won't work on Jotaro and Akane."

"Of course it works against me," snarled Akane with disgust. "I've got a fat old man grinding his body against mine! All of this to prove to his best friend that he isn't gay. I know he is denying it but there are limits to decency!"

Genma was angered by this and opened his mouth to protest. Unfortunately, he released his hold slightly, allowing Akane to free her right hand. She immediately closed it except for the forefinger and middle-finger and, to everyone's surprise, propelled them into Genma's nostrils. The effect was instantaneous. Genma howled in pain and released his hold fully, allowing Akane to get off of him and take her hand out of his nose. She then kicked Genma, hard, sending him away. Genma got up shakily, holding his bloody nose and crying while Akane wiped her hand with a handkerchief.

"You're cheating, little girl," he growled despite the pain.

"This is Anything Goes," replied Akane sharply. "As long as I don't kill you, anything is allowed and cheating is an unknown notion. I can do what I want. Like this."

Murky brown energy coalesced between her hands before the resulting ball shot towards a shell-shocked Genma, who didn't have the presence of mind to avoid it. It collided into him and sent him on the ground once more. Genma got up with much more difficulties this time. He was wheezing and panting. This ball of energy had cracked a few ribs. If he didn't manage to do anything soon he would be beaten and he knew it. The master, may the deepest levels of hell engulf the god-forsaken spawn of evil in their vengeful blazes (Genma didn't know that the last levels of hell were actually frosted), had taught her well.

"I promised I wouldn't unleash these techniques anymore but you're not leaving me any choice," he said grimly. Then he disappeared from view.

Akane frowned. Genma had unleashed his forbidden techniques and she had no idea where he was. If she didn't find a way to reveal him the cowardly slime ball would win. She then remembered Jotaro telling about Nodoka Saotome and the fact that Genma was scared of her. She decided to gamble and looked pointedly outside.

"Hey!" she shouted. "There's a redhead lady in a kimono with a katana outside."

Genma suddenly reappeared, his focus overridden by fear, and shook his head around frantically.

"Where?" he shouted obviously scared and ready to flee.

Akane capitalised on this moment of weakness and shot her leg between Genma's legs. Genma folded on himself under the pain, his fear forgotten. But Akane didn't stop there. She performed a palm strike to his chest, making him stand straight and cutting his breath totally before bending back, putting her hands on the ground behind her feet and performing a crescent-moon kick that caught Genma under the jaw, making it creak in a way that made the other Tendos wince. Genma was lifted from the ground by the kick. Before he could land, Akane got back on her feet, grabbed his head with her hand while she pushed his legs away with her feet and brought his head face first on the ground so hard that the whole Dojo shook. She then released the head and checked Genma, who was already unconscious. She then dusted her hands and rose back.

"I think we can safely say that Akane is the winner," said Happosai neutrally. "I almost lost hope when Genma used the Umisen-ken but you managed to get him out of it, brilliantly I might add."

"He'll think twice before saying that women are weak in my presence, that's for sure," replied Akane before turning to her father. "You should bring him to the hospital. I think I broke his jaw and ribs."

"Don't you thing you went too far, Akane?" asked Soun with a frown.

"Have him grind himself against you first," answered Akane. "Then we will discuss about how much is too far. I'm off to Tofu, I have shiatsu lessons."

Soun shivered. His daughter had raised some very valid points. He wouldn't alienate his friend but he would be cautious. He then frowned at his youngest daughter. She was becoming more and more of a loose cannon. He'd have to put his foot down soon. He didn't like how independent she was becoming.

* * *

"I analysed your so-called love-revealing cakes," said Jotaro to Akane. "It's just a rip-off. It's magical, all right, given the way it displays crosses or cherry tree petals. But all they reveal is if the person has allergies."

"So it doesn't reveal love of any kind?" asked Akane. Jotaro shook his head. "What a relief!"

"Who did eat it?" asked Jotaro.

"I just made one cake since my cooking is atrocious. I ate one half and had a cross on my face, which is logical," replied Akane.

"You ate your own cooking?" asked Jotaro with a raised eyebrow.

"It's disgusting but I'm strangely immune to the illnesses," answered Akane. "Anyway, Kuno was bothering me and I made him eat the other half in retaliation. He had cherry tree petals on his face after that. I was scared beyond measure."

"I can see why," said Jotaro with finality. Kuno had that effect on people.

* * *

A.N: My explanation for the ki-blasts is of the same kind as a few other techniques, that is to say magical bullshit. What interests me in the technique isn't the firepower (Jotaro has other means to cause widespread destruction) but the fact that it makes emotions vanish. That is the most useful part of the technique to my mind. The events listed by Jotaro when she performs the ultimate Shishi Hokodan happen in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure parts 3,4 and 6.

The fact that Mousse doesn't love Shampoo seemed logical to me. He simply has seen better. People might argue that love isn't rational. I still think it can be. Besides, the resulting scene with Maomorin was funny.

Jotaro's vengeance against the Kuno sibling was too funny to ignore. The fact remains that I have always wondered why nobody ever tried to pair them since they are so much alike. I've seen incestuous pairings among the Tendo sisters. Why no the Kuno siblings?

The Craddle of Hell episode was rather fun to write. Please note that I have absolutely nothing against gays (I even wrote a Yaoi part in this story) but people are funny when they try to deny being gay with all their might. At lest I think it is funny, then again it is somewhat sad that people can react that violently to such suppositions and that most people associate homosexuality with a lack of manliness.

Next time, Nodoka appears. And she is due for a rude awakening.


	21. The Kinslayer

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them. 

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play 

XX) The Kinslayer 

"So, how did the volley-ball game go?" asked a female Jotaro.

"We won, but it wasn't easy," answered Akane with a shrug.

"How come?" asked Jotaro. "It's not as if the opposing team is skilled."

"The opposing team, no," replied Akane. "However, they have a cheerleader worse than Kodachi. She tried to undermine us during the whole match. The match was actually won by the other girls. I was too busy thwarting this Mariko Konjo."

Jotaro took his laptop and typed on it for a while.

"Mariko Konjo," she said. "Cheerleader going to Tomobiki high school. She usually supports anyone who has caught her fancy. I learnt about her since she cheats so much. She goes as far as poisoning opponents before the match and using tools, like Kodachi, really. She usually says that love is what allows the target of her fancy to win."

Akane stopped.

"We might have a problem," she said. "Well, actually not really. But she fell in love with Kuno."

Jotaro stopped too.

"Kuno?" she asked neutrally. "As in our famous Tatewaki "True Blunder" Kuno, incestuous brother during his free time?"

"The very same," replied Akane. "She didn't even care when students told her about the incestuous part. Either she really loves him or she is as good as he is at forgetting details to deepen her delusions."

"Well, look at the bright side," replied Jotaro. "Now that the idiot has a girl interested in him, he is less likely to bother us."

"That's not so certain," Akane shot back. "He told her that he had two other loves and that he couldn't leave them like that. The little tramp then told him that the two said sluts, that is to say us, were clearly not worthy of him."

Jotaro stopped in her tracks. Akane looked at her quizzically.

"She told that?" asked Jotaro neutrally but with a hint of frost.

"Well yes," answered Akane.

"That's it," said Jotaro calmly, but with a hint of threat. "The bitch is going down. Hard."

"I was inclined to do so," replied Akane. "I didn't think being called a slut would make you that enraged, though."

"I could care less about being called a slut," countered Jotaro. "I am quite proud to be one. But nobody says I'm worth less than Kuno and gets away with it."

"I hadn't thought of it that way but it is true that it is insulting," said Akane while scrunching her face. "How do you want to get back at her?"

"Well, I thought of that..." started Jotaro.

* * *

The Furinkan Gymnasium was crowded. Today, Furinkan's kendo team would fight against Seisyun's team. Kuno was the only fighter on Furinkan's side and he was supported by Mariko. The Seisyun side had just suffered from food poisoning and all of its fighters were down, save for one. Mariko had noticed this and frowned. She had then noticed that there was a cheerleader supporting him, although she wasn't doing a good job of it in her not-so-humble opinion. She didn't even have the proper attire. Sure, she had the miniskirt and the revealing top, but she was wearing a strange cap (more like the front half of one) and a trenchcoat that was closed on her torso, hiding her voluptuous breasts. Kuno seemed entranced by them and it didn't please Mariko very much. The little upstart would soon regret dealing with her. Especially since she didn't have any accessories.

During the presentation, Mariko did a dance with her pompoms to encourage Kuno. When it was the turn of Seisyun's side, Mariko smirked. With only one cheerleader, they would have difficulties in topping her dance.

She unfortunately didn't know Jotaro Kujo that well. Few people actually did.

The lights of the gymnasium suddenly faltered. It wasn't that problematic since the competition took place during daytime but it was noticeable. One projector lit up and focused on Jotaro and the lone Seisyun kendoka. Jotaro then started a dance. Actually, it was less a dance than it was an artful succession of acrobatic feats. Some of them even involved the kendoka. At the end of the dance, everybody was left with their jaws hanging at the prowess Jotaro and the kendoka had displayed. Kuno was incensed that his "pigtailed goddess" was supporting anyone other than himself, which in turn made Mariko frown. The tramp had outshone her. No matter. She had several tricks up her (figurative) sleeves that would make her regret ever thinking of opposing her.

"Hey, Kujo!" shouted a Furinkan student. "Why are you supporting Seisyun? You're a Furinkan student."

"And support Kuno in any shape?" replied Jotaro. "Not a chance in hell."

Nobody had anything to answer to that. It was self-explanatory, really. As a consequence, a non-negligible part of Furinkan's students started to support Seisyun. Kuno seethed. He would wipe the little bastard from Seisyun as soon as he could.

The actual fight began. Kuno dashed at his opponent and struck him with all his might, skill and speed, shouting "Strike" at a fast pace for each strike he performed. His opponent would soon falter.

Except that he didn't. The other kendoka was keeping up with him. Kuno howled and tried to speed up his strikes but it didn't do any good. Worse, the kendoka was landing hits on him and accumulating points as well as weakening him.

Meanwhile, Mariko tried to interfere. However, Jotaro would have none of it. When she sent her cutting batons, Jotaro caught them with ease and made them disappear. When she tried to send her spiked pompoms at Seisyun's kendoka, the same thing happened. Nothing she tried seemed to work. She realised that it was because of the other cheerleader and decided to get rid of her first.

She took a special baton and pointed it towards Jotaro. She then pressed a switch and the baton elongated. It could elongate up to five metres. Since she was only three metres away from Jotaro, she would obviously hit her.

However, Jotaro caught the approaching end of the baton and remained rooted on the floor. It was something Mariko hadn't anticipated and since she was holding it in a strong grip, she was propelled backwards and crashed among the spectators. She was slightly disorientated by the crash. When she came to her sense, she noticed that she had landed in a rather ridiculous position with her crotch in a student's face. She let out an indignant cry and got back on her feet as soon as she could. She sent Jotaro a rather dark gaze and dashed at her, sending pompoms at her to mask her attack and hit her with a strong kick. She smiled in grim satisfaction and looked at where her opponent was.

She was rather surprised to see a nondescript Seisyun student unconscious on the ground. It meant that she hadn't hit Jotaro. She felt a tap against her shoulder and whirled around frantically. There was no one here, except the two battling kendokas but they were too far away.

"Now, where is the switch on this baton?" said Jotaro idly from behind Mariko. She had used two Time Stops to mess with Mariko and get her in the position she wanted. "Ah, here it is."

Mariko suddenly felt a painful intrusion between her butt cheeks and felt herself be propelled. She howled in pain and indignation at the unwanted intrusion and looked back. Jotaro had used her extensible baton and had activated it when she wasn't looking. She started to scream obscenities not befitting of a cheerleader at her opponent. She flew and landed head first into Kuno, resulting into a double knock-out since both of their heads had met. It led to Seisyun being declared the winner of the competition.

When she woke up, she noticed that she was looked upon by Jotaro and the Seisyun kendoka, who, without the headgear, was revealed to be Akane. She immediately got on her feet.

"I lost?" she asked with a small voice.

"Kuno lost," answered Jotaro. "There's a difference."

"It means I lost," replied Mariko dramatically. "My love wasn't strong enough compared to yours."

Akane barked in laughter.

"If you believe that love made us win, you are a deluded little girl," she said mockingly. "You were so focused on love that you didn't even realise that our victory relied on trust and skill. Grow up, little girl. Otherwise, the next time you might not end up so lucky."

"And don't ever say that we're not worthy of Kuno," threatened Jotaro. "It's the complete opposite. Otherwise," she added while taking the extensible baton from... somewhere, "this baton will meet another one of your orifices."

Mariko blanched and fled as fast as she could. Jotaro and Akane went away, satisfied with their result. Kuno was still lying on the ground, forgotten by everybody.

* * *

A few days later, Jotaro, in his male form, had the unpleasant surprise of noticing Mariko Konjo once more. He became even more irritated when she looked at him and immediately got love-filled eyes. She dashed towards him and started to woo him.

"Hello," she said bubbly. "I am Mariko Konjo and you are the missing half of my heart."

Jotaro eyed her with disbelief. He knew that she fell in love fast but he didn't know it was that fast.

"Just like that?" he said neutrally. "I mean, you don't know me."

"It doesn't matter," she gushed. "Our love was written in the stars! Just let yourself succumb to it."

'_I can understand why she fell for Kuno_' thought Jotaro.

"I'm not even flattered," he replied bluntly. "And I already have a girlfriend."

"Don't be stupid," said Mariko derisively. "Just what does this tramp have that I don't?"

Jotaro frowned at the insult towards Michiru and at the fact that Mariko didn't know when to stop. He then noticed that people were eyeing them and got an idea for revenge.

"Well, her breasts are bigger than yours, for one," he answered while raising his voice.

Mariko stopped frolicking and eyed him with shock.

"Her waist is thinner, her legs are longer, she is taller than you but is far from being as fat," added Jotaro.

People were started to snicker at Mariko who was shaking in anger.

"Her hair is of a more beautiful colour and not as greasy and she has a fairer skin than you," added Jotaro.

Some people were laughing now. Screw anger, Mariko was shaking with rage.

"But well, if you want to be our slave, I won't stop you," said Jotaro surprisingly, shocking Mariko once more. "We are both into S&M and we have wanted a slave for a while. You could do. I heard from my sister that you had some experience with anal."

He took a whip and an enormous vibrator from... somewhere and held it in front of Mariko. Mariko blanched and sputtered. When she noticed that people around her were eyeing her with interest, she squeaked and fled as fast as she could. Jotaro then put the whip and the vibrator back into Doorspace and continued on his way. Michiru would get a kick out of this story, he was sure of it.

* * *

As Jotaro was walking by in her girl form, she noticed a woman clad with a kimono walking along the canal and carrying a wrapped long bundle. The woman had dark red hair, darker than Jotaro's. She frowned. She knew that woman. Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother. The crazy bitch had let Ranma go with Genma for ten years and had left a contract that said that Ranma and Genma had to commit seppuku if she didn't find Ranma manly. Jotaro scowled some more. What exactly was the definition of manly, anyway? Happosai was manly enough, in the sense that he fondled about anything female in his vicinity, but Jotaro wasn't really inclined to become like him, neither would be Ranma.

As Jotaro came within the red-haired woman's sight, said woman stopped and a disapproving look made its way on her face. Jotaro noticed and tried to ignore her. She had nothing to say to this woman. Nodoka Saotome wouldn't let the matter drop, however.

"Excuse me, young lady," she said disapprovingly. "This is hardly a uniform befitting of a lady."

Jotaro stopped and eyed her neutrally.

"And pray tell," she said frostily, "how is this matter any of your concern? I don't even know you."

Nodoka was taken aback by the frostiness in her voice but she soon regained her countenance.

"Be as it may," replied Nodoka, "a young lady should wear the proper outfit for her gender. This outfit is way too boyish for you."

Jotaro stared at her in a way that made Nodoka uncomfortable.

"Didn't it occur to you that I wear this outfit not by choice but by necessity?" asked Jotaro neutrally enough.

"What could compel you to dress like that?" asked Nodoka clueless.

"None of your business," Jotaro shot back. "It's a medical condition. I've got the authorization of a doctor to wear this at school."

"You wear this at school?" said Nodoka indignantly. "It is an outrage! In my time it wouldn't have been allowed."

"But we aren't in your time anymore," countered Jotaro with irritation. "In this day and age, my outfit isn't frowned upon anymore. So I wear it. And even though it was still frowned upon, I would still wear it. I don't care about what people say."

"Have you no respect, girl?" said Nodoka incensed. "Some of your elders don't want to see you in such an outfit!"

"I can respect people just fine," replied Jotaro drolly. "It just happens to be that I only respect people whom I fell actually deserve it. Respect is earned, not freely given."

Nodoka was at a loss. She didn't have any arguments to counter that. She decided to resort to her trump card.

"You have no honour, little girl," she said firmly. To her surprise Jotaro just barked a laugh.

"Honour?" she said amused. "Why should I care about honour? Fuck honour! I have no use for it. It is only used by weak people to trap their betters into promises that are advantageous to them. Honour is a destroyer of happiness and as such should be ignored if one wishes to pursue happiness."

Nodoka was taken aback and quite upset by what Jotaro had said. This unruly child had offended her greatly. After all, there was nothing more important than honour, it embodied everything. It was her life and it defined her very being. She decided to have the last word.

"You will never be able to find a suitable husband with your attitude, young lady," she said frostily. "Girls like you become harlots."

However, her insult fell on deaf ears. Jotaro had never cared for the opinion of the people she didn't respect.

"Ha!" barked Jotaro amusedly. "I don't need to become a trollop to earn a living, I actually made an enormous amount of money by myself. I'm less of a trollop than you probably are."

Nodoka was utterly shocked at the insult before anger twisted her face.

"How dare you?" she shrieked. Jotaro smiled cruelly.

"Honour didn't keep you husband at home, Nodoka Saotome," she said viciously, making Nodoka blanch. "I've heard of you, Nodoka Saotome. Your husband left you with your son ten years ago. Since you are unemployed and have no useful skill, your only means of subsistence is likely to be prostitution."

Nodoka howled in rage and tried to slap Jotaro. Jotaro evaded barely as a way to taunt her.

"If your only way of retaliation to such accusations is physical and not logical, then there probably is some truth to it," said Jotaro idly. "You are bitter against the life you lived thanks to following honour and wish unhappiness to other people as a way of retaliation. And you keep hiding behind honour when things don't go your way. Pathetic. I'm more womanly than you've ever been. And for your information, I've already had several lovers. If I wanted a husband, I'd just have too much to choose from. And you still think people would envy you over me? Preposterous."

With that last barb, Jotaro went away. Nodoka breathed heavily to get rid of the rage that was permeating her and looked around. People were sending looks she didn't like. They weren't look of approval for trying to get the little strumpet back to womanly ways but looks of pity, as if she was the most unfortunate creature on Earth. Nodoka felt her rage come back but a proper woman wouldn't release it on so many people in public. She thus walked away briskly. She still had to reach the Tendos' house.

Had she listened to the gossips spreading among the witness, she would have learnt that she had just manifested hostility to the most dangerous woman in Japan. Whether she would have acknowledged this fact is another matter.

* * *

Kasumi heard the bell and rushed to open the door. She was greeted by a red-haired woman clad in a kimono carrying a wrapped bundle on her shoulder. The woman was scowling but it didn't prevent her from having a strong resemblance with a female she knew. Jotaro Kujo. Kasumi's reaction was thus predictable. She froze on the spot before fainting.

Nodoka hadn't expected this reaction. She instantly called for help. The rest of the Tendo family arrived, followed by a curious Genma. Genma looked at who was there and froze.

"Genma!" said Nodoka happily.

"N-Nodoka..." sputtered Genma. Akane noticed that he was scared out of his mind. Such things only happened when he feared for his life. She wondered what could have done it. Jotaro had revealed that the sometimes panda feared his wife but he had never told her why.

"I missed you," said Nodoka happily. "It's been ten years. Where is Ranma? Is he manly?"

Noticing that Genma paled further, Akane deduced that it could explain that. How do you tell your wife that her only son rejected her name?

"Not that I'm not happy to see you again, Nodoka," said Soun cautiously, "but what happened to Kasumi?"

"I don't know," said Nodoka concerned. "She just fainted when she saw me. I don't know why."

"You remind her of somebody who terrifies her," said Nabiki sharply. Nodoka eyed the other girl with wide eyes.

"Who could that be?" asked Akane. "The only person she reminds me of is Jotaro."

"Exactly!" replied Nabiki. "Jotaro terrifies Kasumi. Hell, she terrifies me. I almost fainted when I saw... who are you again?"

"Nodoka Saotome, Genma's wife," replied Nodoka a bit surprised at these revelations. "Who is this Jotaro you speak of?"

"Jotaro Kujo," detailed Akane. "Know under the nicknames of Ice Empress and Yakuza Slayer, among many."

"Yakuza Slayer?" asked Nabiki while she blanched. She hadn't known that.

"She has sent more than a hundred Yakuzas in the hospital with crippling wounds," explained Akane. "I'm fairly sure she has killed more than a few of them but no corpses were found, although there has been a significant drop in their numbers. She usually wears a strange cap and a long trenchcoat with a golden chain on the left side of the collar."

"I've seen her," said Nodoka sombrely. "Despicable girl. I would have slain her if I could have gotten away with it."

Akane barked a laugh.

"You couldn't beat her," she said amused. "She's way too dangerous."

"How would you know, little girl?" asked Nodoka frostily. She already didn't like that girl. Hopefully her Ranma wasn't engaged to this little harpy.

"You fight honourably, don't you?" asked Akane.

"Yes," answered Nodoka proudly. "Why?"

"Jotaro doesn't," replied Akane. "She doesn't enter straight fights she can't win. She's ready to use any means to win, be they treachery, cheating, firearms, crippling move, even killing ones. She has an idea about what a restrained fight is but she doesn't see the point so she often does what she wants. And she is skilled at what she does. If you are in a straight fight with her then you have already lost. She never fights fair unless she wants to."

Nodoka didn't respond to that. Instead she turned to the now fidgeting Genma.

"How is my son?" she asked. "Is he manly?"

"Why would you care if he is manly or not?" asked back Akane.

"He made a pledge before Genma and he left for their training trip," answered Nodoka. "If he isn't manly, Genma and he will have to commit seppuku."

Everybody fell silent at that. Genma started to shake even more. Fortunately for him, Nodoka deduced that it was because he was happy to see her and was restraining himself from unseemly displays of affection. She couldn't wait to see how manly her son had become. She hoped that she wouldn't have to wait long before having grandchildren. Ranma was surely engaged to either the gentle Kasumi or to Nabiki. There was no way he was with such an impolite girl like Akane, was there?

"How old was he when he signed this?" asked Nabiki cautiously.

"When he was three years old," answered Nodoka happily. "I knew he was manly already to sign such a contract so eagerly."

She took a paper from inside her kimono that indeed was a seppuku promise. The family noticed that there was Genma's name scrawled in almost illegible writing and childish hand prints near it.

"Didn't it occur to you," started Nabiki slowly, "that he just wanted to play with ink like a normal three year old?"

"Nonsense," chided Nodoka idly. "My son is just manlier than any other. Oh, I can't wait for my grandchildren to be born!"

She joined her hands and got a glassy look at that that just made Genma extremely nervous while all the Tendos eyed her strangely. She was so far gone that she didn't even notice.

"So you expect Ranma to abide to this contract," stated Akane.

"Of course he will," replied Nodoka happily, while revealing that the bundle she carried contained a katana. "He is my son, after all. Genma would show him the perfect example."

Akane turned to Genma with a smile that made Genma even more nervous.

"Sucks to be you, Genma, really," she said amused. Genma whimpered.

"What do you mean?" asked Nodoka curious.

"Well, for this contract to be applied, you would need Ranma Saotome to be alive and kicking," said Akane as she dropped the bomb. Genma searched for an escape frantically.

"What did you say?" asked Nodoka with an edgy voice and a frown.

"Well, Genma kind of sent Ranma's soul out of his body and another one took over," explained Akane idly as everybody's jaw dropped, Nodoka's first. "The one who took over Ranma's body is Jotaro Kujo and doesn't intend to honour any promises involving Ranma Saotome. Ranma Saotome is effectively dead. And Genma is to blame on that."

Nodoka looked at her as if she had lost her mind while Genma sweated.

"I don't believe you," said Nodoka with finality. "You shouldn't lie, little girl. Besides, Jotaro Kujo is a girl."

"She has a brother also named Jotaro Kujo," replied Akane. "He is even more terrible and unforgiving as his sister. And he is occupying Ranma's body."

"You're obviously delusional, little girl," said Nodoka idly before eyeing her husband. "What really happened to Ranma?"

"I don't know," answered Genma quickly. "The boy seemed to be rebellious these days. He took another name and refuses to go back to his given name and honour the pledge between our schools. I was waiting for you to make him hear reason. He will be more receptive to you."

"Well, let's go then," said Nodoka firmly. "I want to have my son back."

Genma nodded and followed her outside before leading her. It wasn't visible on his face but he was terrified. He hoped that Nodoka would make his son stop this Ranma nonsense or he might very well have to abide to the seppuku contract. Akane looked at them unperturbed as they left before turning to her father.

"I don't care if you invite her," she said to him neutrally before taking a hard tone. "But I warn you. Take her side over mine and I renounce our family for good. And I unleash Happosai on you."

Soun, who had been thinking of punishing his youngest daughter for her behaviour in front of a guest, looked terrified at the prospect and nodded quickly. Happosai arrived at that moment and noticed at everybody's behaviour that something had happened.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

* * *

The more Genma thought about it, the surer he was that he was going to die. Given the boy's opinion of him, it was extremely unlikely that he would be swayed by his mother. And besides, Akane had been right. The boy wasn't a Saotome anymore, so he didn't have to abide to the seppuku contract. The only thing he had to lose was his honour and, from what Genma knew, he didn't care about it. Genma's life was the only one on the line.

As they reached what Genma knew was Jotaro's house, he wondered if it wouldn't be safer for him to flee, never to see his wife again. Her intent was a doomed endeavour if he ever saw one. His thoughts left him as Nodoka ringed the bell. It was like a train wreck. Genma knew it would end badly but couldn't help but watch. It was partially because of his wife that he was in this mess, so he would take some guilty pleasure seeing her taken down a peg. Especially since she terrified him.

The door opened, revealing a female Jotaro, who eyed Nodoka as if she were a particularly distasteful kind of insect. Nodoka was looking at her incensed.

"What do you want?" asked Jotaro neutrally enough.

"What are you doing here?" asked Nodoka venomously.

"I live here," answered Jotaro. "And I was talking to him, not you. What are you doing here, Genma?"

"I, huh... I lead her here," stammered the portly man.

"Well, now that you are done, be gone," said Jotaro with an edge in her voice. "And don't come back."

Genma didn't wait to be given a second chance. He actually fled from the place. Nodoka wasn't that scary compared to Jotaro. After all, she would just insist that he kills himself. And she had to catch him to do that. Jotaro could do much worse and was one of the only being in the world who could capture him, he was sure of that.

"What right do you have to make my husband go?" protested Nodoka angrily.

"Well, he pissed off the owner of the place," replied Jotaro. "She told us that if we saw him here, we would have to chase him away. I'm just executing her orders. Now what do you want?"

"I came here to speak to my son," said Nodoka firmly.

"Your son is dead, Saotome," said Jotaro neutrally. "Genma made sure of it."

"He foolishly goes by the name Jotaro Kujo," grounded Nodoka through her teeth. "I want to speak to him."

Jotaro made a show of looking inside before turning back to Nodoka.

"He doesn't have anything to say to you, he just told me so," said Jotaro to an incensed Nodoka. "Why should I let you talk to him?"

"I'm his mother!" shrieked Nodoka. "I have a right to talk to him."

"His identification papers list his parents as dead," replied Jotaro. "For all we know, you are a manipulating old woman who wants to hurt him. Why should I let you see him?"

Nodoka took a threatening stance in front of her.

"You will let me see him," she said deadly as a faint red aura appeared around her to intimidate Jotaro.

"Oh, really?" she said neutrally.

Jotaro then entered in the Neko-ken state. The malevolent purple with black streaks aura coalesced around her body, making her look like a demon. Nodoka started to be afraid. Then, as the aura grew, she audibly whimpered. She fell on her knees as her legs couldn't support her weight anymore. Jotaro then looked back inside before the aura receded and disappeared.

"It seems as though my brother still wants to hear you," she said neutrally. "Come and close the door behind you."

And with that, she disappeared inside. Nodoka regained her breath before rising slowly. She had come close to wetting herself but she wouldn't let this... this harlot know it. She entered the house, not closing the door. This harlot had no right to command her, she wouldn't let herself be ordered by such an impolite girl. Besides, she was a terrible host. She should have waited for Nodoka before closing the door after her. She entered the living room and did a double-take.

Jotaro was sitting comfortably in the couch but looked ready to pounce on anything that moved. He was wearing the same clothes as his female form. It wouldn't have surprised most people living in Nerima but it did surprise Nodoka. On top of that, he was smoking a cigarette. He was really in a rebellious phase since Genma wouldn't have allowed such a destructive habit. But it was still Nodoka's son. She dashed at him to hold him in her arms while crying: "My son!" and was ready to smother him with kisses.

However, she never got the chance. Jotaro simply vanished from where he was and reappeared away from Nodoka. He eyed her critically with eyes that made Nodoka uneasy. They reminded her too much of the female Jotaro.

"You didn't close the door," he just said.

Nodoka barely believed her ears. He hadn't seen her in more than ten years and this was all he had to say to her? He didn't look even excited at seeing her, just... just stone faced. She didn't understand. How could her own son be so neutral towards his own mother?

"I couldn't let this little upstart order me around," finally said Nodoka. "Besides, she is a terrible host..."

"This little upstart happens to be my sister," interrupted Jotaro acidly. "And if you don't close this door, you're out of here."

Nodoka was so stunned that she did so without a fuss. When she came back, Jotaro was eyeing her with his still neutral gaze. This wasn't how she had envisioned her reunion with her only son.

"My son..." she started.

"I'm not your son," cut Jotaro rather rudely. "Your son was Ranma Saotome. My name is Jotaro Kujo."

"Nonsense," said Nodoka idly. "You are just in a rebellious phase. Now be manly, my son, and stop this foolishness."

"I'm not in any rebellious phase, you stupid cunt," replied Jotaro with a straight face, shocking Nodoka. He then took out his identity papers and showed them to Nodoka. "These papers firmly establish me as Jotaro Kujo, whose parents are dead and whose guardian is Mikoto Yukihara. You have no actual hold over me."

Nodoka flinched. How had that happened?

"But... But..." she stammered. "It can't be! You are my son!"

"Your son didn't have a star-shaped birthmark at the base of his neck," countered Jotaro while showing her his birthmark. "Besides, you son didn't have a twin sister."

"Where is he, then?" asked Nodoka.

"Genma didn't tell you?" replied Jotaro. "He killed his son by hitting him on the head. It sent his soul out of his body. Since my soul was adrift, it was thrown into Ranma's body. I thus have his body but I am not him. Thus any obligations concerning him don't matter to me. Especially this stupid contract you have made him sign."

"What!" shrieked Nodoka. "But you can't! You have to uphold this contract."

"Of course not," countered Jotaro. "It concerned Ranma Saotome and I'm not Ranma Saotome. I can't be held responsible for anything concerning him. If you think I'm going to behave like your dutiful son then you are clearly delusional."

"You can't renounce your name like that!" she shouted. "It is a matter of honour!"

"Honour," laughed Jotaro. "Honour is useless. You know what my sister said about it. I agree with her completely. Fuck honour. It's never the worth the sacrificed it demands. Never."

Nodoka was incensed. This... this boy thought he could avoid what had been decided years ago. He had no rights. He was her son and that was final. Since he wasn't acting manly and didn't want to honour the seppuku contract, she would have to do it for him. Her hands took the bundle on her shoulder and started to unwrap the katana it contained.

"Unsheathe this blade and you won't see it anymore, ever," threatened Jotaro.

Nodoka almost laughed. She was well trained at the sword. Even Genma, whose martial arts prowess was impressive, was scared when she took the blade out. This boy didn't scare her. She unsheathed the Saotome family blade.

And it disappeared from her hands.

What Nodoka had never realised was that Genma wasn't scared of her because of her prowess with the blade but because of her total lack of caution when wielding it, which implied that she often came close to disembowelling him when training. She actually wasn't all that great when using it and Jotaro capitalized on this. Even Kuno was a greater challenge than she was.

Nodoka blinked. She didn't understand what had happened. One moment the blade had been in her hands and the next it wasn't there anymore. She eyed her hands stupidly before lifting her eyes. Just in time to see a punch come to her at high speed.

The impact happened on her left eye, which she closed and felt swell as she started to fall on her back. Then the pain registered and she let out a cry. She didn't have the time to touch the ground. Jotaro sent a kick in her belly that bereft her of all her breath and she flew away, landing heavily on the ground. She wheezed painfully, trying to catch her breath. She was then grabbed by her collar and dragged out of the house, the fabric of her kimono ripping in some places. Jotaro then threw her out of the property where she landed against a trash can, ending up sprawled among trash. She looked blearily with only one eye at Jotaro. Jotaro eyed her with contempt and took the Saotome family blade from... somewhere.

"You are a wretched creature," said Jotaro with an unnatural calm that terrified Nodoka. "Trying to live vicariously through your son. It is pathetic. I want nothing to do with you. As for your blade..." He grabbed it and, under Nodoka's horrified gaze, he snapped it in half. He then took the parts and snapped them in half together. He did the same process two more times. The blade being in sixteen parts, it would be impossible to repair. "That should prevent you from using it on me. That's also what I do with your precious honour. Bother me or my sister again and I'll send you to the hospital. In more than one piece."

She then threw what remained of the sword at Nodoka before going back home. Nodoka took some time to get her breathing and bearings back and rose painfully. She then picked up the parts of her katana and put them in her pouch mournfully. This katana had been in her family for generations and this boy had broken it in a few seconds. It would be impossible to get it back to its former glory. She then felt simmering anger at Jotaro. She would have revenge against him and his tramp of a sister.

But first, she had to go back to the Tendo Dojo to ask them for help in this matter.

* * *

"Tried to fight Jotaro, didn't you?" asked Akane as soon as she saw Nodoka.

Nodoka was indeed in a poor state. She had a black eye, her hair was dishevelled, her Kimono was rumpled, torn and filthy and she didn't have her katana anymore.

"Shut up, girl," she snarled. "I won't have a tramp in the making like you start to tell me things like that."

Soun wanted to help her, he really did. She was his best friend's wife after all. However, Happosai was there. Had it just been Akane, he'd have reprimanded her but it was way less easy to forget her threats when the direct vector of said threat was in the same room as he was. Soun instantly put a hard edge on his face as he realised that. He went in front of Nodoka and stopped, stone-faced, in front of her.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Nodoka," he said frostily.

"What!" shouted Nodoka, taken aback. "Why? I need your help!"

"You insulted one of my daughters inside of her own house," said Soun with his best glare. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just throw you out?"

"I need your help to get revenge on Jotaro Kujo," snarled Nodoka. "He broke my family blade. I won't stand idle."

"But I will," replied Soun firmly. If anything, Soun was a good actor. It had helped him well since his wife had died. It had allowed him to life a rather comfortable life while his daughter took care of his needs.

"What!" shrieked Nodoka. "Why? He intends to revoke the Tendo-Saotome pledge! You can't let him do that!"

"I actually must," replied Soun stonily. That part wasn't acted. For all his attitude, Soun did take honour seriously. "I promised him on my honour in exchange of his help that I would not bother him anymore with this pledge or with anything. I ask you again. Leave and don't come back."

"Coward!" shouted Nodoka. "You are a man without honour!"

Soun got suddenly extremely deadly. He was obviously battling against himself so as not to strike a woman. Akane noticed this and decided to act.

"Do you want me to remove her?" she asked him.

"Please do," said Soun through clenched teeth before gaining a sadistic smile. "And enjoy yourself."

"With pleasure," replied Akane with a grin on her features while cracking her fists.

The beating that followed was brutal. Nodoka landed in a broken heap outside of the Tendo home, unable to move.

"And stay out!" shouted Akane before closing the door behind her.

Nodoka fumed angrily. How dare the Tendos turn their backs on her when she needed their help? She would get her revenge at Jotaro, get him back as her son and would show them that she didn't need them.

But first, she had to move despite her injuries. It proved to be more difficult than it had first sounded. She wondered where Genma was.

* * *

Genma timidly showed his head from the guest room. He had heard what had occurred and was glad. With Nodoka's de facto eviction from the Tendo house, he had a safe haven from her wrath. She had made it easier for him by getting angry at Soun.

Now, if only he could remain here forever...

* * *

Principal Kuno was officially freaking out everyone. He was dressed normally and was being extremely considerate with the students. He had even shaved the palm top in his hair and had gotten rid of his sunglasses. He was currently working on getting rid of his tan and had passed several rules that were actually beneficial to the students.

"I wonder what has gotten into him," said Akane to Jotaro as Kuno was freaking out while his father apologized to him for how badly he had mistreated him in his youth.

"Well, I might have something to do with that," said Jotaro with a smirk.

"What did you do?" asked Akane curious.

"I found the contradiction jewel in the junk I stole from Khu Lon," replied Jotaro. "It is said to change someone's behaviour totally. It was historically used by Amazons amplify emotions like love and hate or turn them around but it actually works on whatever extreme behaviour. Since our principal was pissing me off, I glued it on him. It changed his behaviour radically, as you can see."

"It worked for the best," laughed Akane. "How long do you plan to let it on him?"

"Until he loses his tan and pass this rule that deprives him of most of his power," replied Jotaro with a wider smirk.

Akane laughed some more.

* * *

Happosai discussed one night with a ghost that had been depriving him of the panties he had stolen and had turned them into paper out of frustration from never having her (quite voluminous) panties stolen. He actually found her rather nice after discussing with her. He agreed to steel her panties once and it allowed her to get rid of her earthly attachment. She now had a mission for beyond the grave. She had to find Happosai's sister and ask her for forgiveness in Happosai's name.

* * *

While Akane was working at the Jusenkyohanten, as well as Mousse and Happosai, Jotaro was going towards it. He had just gotten back the contradiction jewel from principal Kuno and had been treated to the sight of the principal wailing in anguish at the things he had done while under the effect of the jewel. Jotaro had found it funny. The principal had immediately changed his outfit but it looked out of place without his tan and the palm top on his head.

As he walked, Jotaro saw something in the sky that was unusual. It looked like Taro's cursed form but it had tentacles. Jotaro actually blinked. The thing noticed him and landed in front of him, scaring onlookers.

"What happened to you, Taro?" asked Jotaro without preamble.

The winged and tentacled Minotaur took a canteen of hot water from Hidden Weapon space and splashed itself with it. It let place to Taro Noriaki. The Chinese young man soon clad himself with clothes taken from Hidden Weapon space.

"Did you know that Jusenkyo curses mixed?" he asked as he was adjusting his mesh shirt.

Jotaro raised an eyebrow.

"You'll have to tell me what happened," he said. "Let's go to the Jusenkyohanten first."

Taro nodded and followed him. They entered the Jusenkyohanten as the final patrons were leaving. Akane was undressing the last tables while Happosai and Mousse were relaxing. Everyone turned to greet Jotaro. They were thus surprised to see Taro.

"Taro!" shouted Akane happily. "Where have you been?"

"In China," he answered with a smirk. "Where else?"

"It's good to have you back," said Mousse. "Now that you're here, we can finally expand the restaurant."

"Count me on it," replied Taro. "I need to make money."

"What took you so long, Taro?" asked Happosai. "I was wondering if you had second thoughts about becoming my student."

"Well, it's a funny story," answered Taro while scratching his cheek a little bit embarrassed. "I was going towards Jusenkyo to reach my village when I heard cries of help. I went to check and helped a young woman to escape some bandits. I lead her back to her village. Since she was the chief's daughter, they made a feast for me and, at the end of it, she thanked me personally by... ha... let's say... offering herself to me. I spent four days in her company. I had to spend one more day there to recover before pursuing my journey."

"You didn't refuse?" asked Jotaro teasingly.

"It wouldn't have been polite," said Taro in a false haughty tone. "Besides, well, she was hot. And extremely willing."

"You haven't started to train your newest pupil and he is already making you proud," said Akane to Happosai with a smile.

"Too true," said the aged master with a sigh. "But it still doesn't explain why you were away for so long."

"Well, two days later, I heard cries again and went to investigate. I ended up saving a young girl form wolves and I had to lead her back to her village. Since she was the daughter of a priest, there was a feast made for me and she too took me to her bed. How could I resist to a young nubile woman asking for my body?"

"I'm starting to see a pattern here," said Jotaro with a hint of amusement.

"Then there was this girl I rescued from drowning..." started Taro.

"How many girls did you save and shag?" interrupted Akane.

"Five in total," said Taro rather proudly. "All babes, too."

"I'm totally jealous," said Mousse with a straight face. "But then again, I'm not really doing any effort. That's probably why I have such a lack of success."

"Do you realise that these girls probably wanted to be pregnant from a strong man?" asked Jotaro.

"Why do you think I need money that badly?" replied Taro. "They all told me that they didn't expect me to raise their children but I still want to help them some. Sending money to them is the best way, for now."

"You're surprisingly responsible about it," said Akane.

"What is that about Jusenkyo curses mixing?" asked Jotaro, diverting the topic of the conversation.

"What are you talking about?" asked Happosai curious.

"Taro has tentacles on his cursed form," answered Jotaro. "It looks a bit strange but given that they are fully functional, it gives him an edge in battle since he has eight more appendages he can use. How did you get them?"

"I went back to Jusenkyo because I wanted to get something for Happosai," replied Taro. "While I was there I fell in the Spring of the Drowned Octopus. I thus got these tentacles added to my cursed form." He noticed that everyone was giving him strange looks. "What?"

"Spring of the Drowned Octopus?" said Mousse disbelievingly. "How do you drown an octopus?"

"I don't know but it happened," answered Taro. "Maybe it starved to death there."

"What did you want to get for me at Jusenkyo anyway?" asked Happosai.

"I got water from the Spring of the Drowned Virtuous Man," answered Taro as he took a jar of water from Hidden Weapon space. "I thought that it might help you with your curse."

Happosai eyed him with awe.

"You did that... for me?" he asked with wonder.

"Well, yes," replied Taro. "You don't deserve this curse after all. You sound like no one ever did anything nice for you."

"Before Akane and I met him, it was probably the case," explained Jotaro. "You realise that it might not help him anyway?"

"Well, yes," said Taro while shrugging. "But I figured it was worth a shot. The worst that can happen is that it would prevent him from groping females in his cursed form. I'd say he doesn't have much to lose."

"True," agreed Happosai before adding eagerly: "Let's do it!"

Taro nodded and splashed Happosai with some water. What happened then surprised everybody. Jotaro was the first to break the silence.

"I didn't know there was a Spring of the Drowned Twin," he finally said.

The others continued gawking at the view of two identical Happosais. They themselves were flabbergasted. The two old men were eyeing each other and doing random movements as if they were before a mirror but none of them followed the movements of the other.

"I-I don't understand," stammered Taro contrite. "There was a panel that said "Spring of the Drowned Virtuous Man", I saw it!"

"Maybe a facetious Amazon misplaced the signs," said Jotaro calmly. "Do you realise that your ki has been distributed equally between the two of you?"

"I noticed," replied one of them as they both frowned. "This curse made me weaker."

"Except that with it you can attack from two different angles with less of your ki attacks but all of your skills and even hyposthenia," countered Akane in awe. "If you're not positively terrifying in this new state, I don't know what you are."

"Which of you is the original, by the way?" asked Mousse.

"The one on the right," answered Jotaro. "The other one literally appeared out of nowhere, I saw the process. The question is how we get you back to your normal state."

"With hot water, of course," replied Happosai.

"We don't know that," Jotaro shot back. "For all we know, this could only work if the two of you are drenched in the same body of hot water."

"Let's test it," said Akane.

She emptied a glass of hot water on the Happosai on the right. Nothing happened.

"I expected that," said Jotaro. "What I'm more interested in is what is going to happen with the other one."

Akane brought another glass of hot water and emptied it on the Happosai on the left. He instantly disappeared. The original Happosai then reeled back and opened wide eyes.

"The fuck?" he said. It was rather crude for the old master but it was the most eloquent he could be given the circumstances.

"What is it, master?" asked Akane concerned.

Happosai didn't respond. He took a glass of water and splashed himself. Another one of him immediately appeared. The second Happosai then went to the kitchen and a few seconds later Happosai opened his eyes wider.

"You discovered something interesting and incredible," stated Jotaro.

"It is incredible, all right," replied Happosai as he nodded. "I get the memories of my cursed double when it is splashed with hot water."

Everybody eyed him with wide eyes. This property of Happosai's cursed form had limitless uses.

"You've definitely become more dangerous to the people you fight," replied Mousse. "You can gather intelligence safely with your curse. It just has to carry hot water to get the info back to you. Not to mention the uses in fights."

"And you can terrorise your former students," added Jotaro. "Imagine their faces when they realise that there are two of you. Come to think of it, it could also be used to render Khu Lon mad. I want to be there when you do that."

Taro had remained silent during the whole exchange with the jar of cursed water in his hands. He looked at it with speculation.

"If I understand correctly," he said to Happosai. "You have nothing against this curse."

"Well, the advantages of it eclipse its drawbacks by several orders of magnitude," replied Happosai. "Why do you ask?"

"Could you turn into your cursed form?" asked Taro. "I want to check something."

"Sure," answered Happosai before splashing himself with cold water and making his twin appear once more.

Taro looked at him for a few seconds before bringing the jar he had been holding into play.

"I learnt that curses mix," he said. "What I wonder about is whether a single curse is cumulative if applied several times or not."

With that said, he splashed Happosai with the cursed water. A third Happosai appeared in front of everyone's baffled gaze.

"It cumulates," said Taro disbelievingly. "My hunch was right."

The three Happosai's looked at each other before smiling mischievously.

"How much water do you still have, Taro?" asked the original.

Taro looked at the jar before smiling too.

"Enough," he replied.

"Douse me with it until I tell you to stop," asked Happosai. "I'll tell you when I feel uncomfortable with my ki reserves. They have been halved once again."

Taro nodded and proceeded to splash the original repeatedly. Several Happosais appeared. When Happosai told him to stop, there were nineteen of them.

"I'm at the limit where I'm comfortable with my ki," stated Happosai.

"Nineteen grandmasters of Anything Goes, all knowing ki attacks and hyposthenia and able to relay information," said Akane with awe. "You make an impressive task force just by yourself."

"Just imagine how much I'm going to train you now," he said to Akane and Taro. "I'm going to be able to work you to exhaustion all by myself now."

Akane and Taro looked both eager and scared at the prospect.

"You could constitute an intervention force just by yourself if you wanted," added Jotaro. "I really can't wait to see Khu Lon's face now."

Happosai grinned sadistically and all of his doubles went out. Several minutes later, two cries of horror were heard. A minute later, an angry voice shouting obscenities was heard.

"I think they know now," he said. "I had their reaction taped. Who wants to watch?"

* * *

A.N: Another pathologically insane character in the person of Mariko Konjo. It's one of the funniest part of the manga. I'm not quite sure about how I twisted it, it is a bit crass. But well, it wouldn't be the first time.

As for Nodoka's treatment, it's a bit basic at first. But we'll see her again a few times. Strangely enough, I despise her character even more than Genma's. She seems unable to evolve. Besides, I am of the mind that the real mother is the one who actually raises her child (that's my opinion, but I don't really have the right to preach it, having my mother well alive and kicking. Orphans might have a totally different point of view on this issue, since they actually don't really know their origins most of the time. But I digress). She's probably the character I am going to bash the most (I'd like to think that it isn't bashing but it most probably is. Then again, I don't feel like being nice to all the characters I introduce so some of them are going to suffer). If you think it is too much or not enough, well, too bad. If you've read the story till now, you should have noticed that I write for my own enjoyment. My story is little more than the result of glorified intellectual (?) masturbation. If you really want credit in that...

The part with Happosai's new curse was a spur of the moment thing and will probably have a limited influence on the story but the concept is damn funny. It is of course a near total copy of the Kage Bushin in Naruto (a copy of a clone... there's gotta be something philosophical about it. But I'm too damn lazy to develop this point now). I'm rather surprised that I am about the only one to have done so (I'm not sure, but I haven't seen this idea anywhere else in Ranma fanfictions, and I have read quite a lot).

Next time, a filler. Then we get to one of the most interesting part of the manga: the encounter with Herb. This one I actually intend to twist beyond recognition.


	22. Deep Silent Complete

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play 

XXI) Deep Silent Complete 

"You seem a bit out of it, Michiru," said Jotaro to the aquamarine-haired girl. "Something on your mind?"

Michiru bit her lips. The both of them were in Juuban's park on a bench. Michiru pointed to a sandy-haired boy reading under a tree fifty metres away from them.

"See this boy?" she asked.

"It's a girl," replied Jotaro.

Michiru eyed him with wide eyes before looking back at the sandy-haired boy, who she noticed was indeed a girl. She should have noticed the lack of Adam's apple on her neck. It just showed how out of it she was that she hadn't noticed earlier. She sighed.

"I met him-her, sorry, in this park yesterday," she said. "And I can't get her out of my head. I'm pretty sure I know her from somewhere but I can't remember where from."

Jotaro remained silent for a few minutes before sighing.

"No you don't," he finally said. "You're just rationalizing one emotion you have difficulties in dealing with."

"Which is?" asked Michiru curious.

"Which is love," replied Jotaro bluntly. "You're obviously love struck."

Michiru eyed Jotaro disbelievingly.

"It can't be," she said. "I don't even know her. And I'm in love with you."

"It's not necessarily exclusive," countered Jotaro. "Why should you only be able to fall in love with only one person? Besides, maybe you just mistook love for a deep friendship coupled with a healthy amount of lust. Tell me, do you think you could forget this girl?"

Michiru opened her mouth to agree but she closed it before mulling this over. She realised that she couldn't forget this girl. She had insinuated herself in her mind and didn't want to go out of it.

"I can't," she replied ashamed as she lowered her head. "But I couldn't forget about you either. I always thought that boys who were two-timing were slimeballs but I am no better."

Jotaro immediately took her in his arms and lifted her chin.

"I will have none of that," he said firmly. "You don't have to be ashamed to be in love."

"But I thought I loved you," she said sadly. "Have I been deluding myself all this time just to get some comfort from you?"

"You loved me plenty," retorted Jotaro. "It's just a matter of priority. You love her more than you love me, that's all. I can live with that."

"But... wouldn't you be sad if I left you for her?" she asked tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"That's one of the things I like about you, you care for my feelings," answered Jotaro with a small smile. "I'll be a little bit sad, of course. I did love you. But I would be sadder if you made your life miserable by lying to yourself. Our love was something wonderful and could have become more but it just wasn't meant to be. If I try to go against it we will both suffer. Besides, I'm content with the situation. It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved."

Michiru didn't answer. She just buried her head into Jotaro's shirt and cried softly for a minute. She then dried her tears and looked at Jotaro warmly.

"Thank you," she said softly. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet," snorted Jotaro. "You have yet to get the woman of your dreams."

"For all I know, she isn't even interested," sighed Michiru. "She might not even have noticed me."

"She has noticed you," countered Jotaro. "And from what I have seen with Star Platinum, she definitely is interested. She was watching you when she thought no one was looking."

"Really?" said Michiru dubiously. "Maybe she was watching us."

"She was only watching you, I noticed how agitated she became when you were sad. It's you she is interested in."

"So what do I do?" asked Michiru.

"Leave it to me, I've got an idea," said Jotaro. "Follow me."

Michiru nodded and followed him. He went straight at the blonde woman who closed her book and eyed him inquisitively, her eyes darting to Michiru before focusing on Jotaro and frowning.

"What can I do for you?" she asked guardedly.

If one didn't know she was a woman, it was actually very difficult to take her for one. She was wearing a boy's uniform and had short blonde hair and brown eyes. Her face was a marvel, not exactly feminine but extremely delicate. She had a piercing gaze and from the musculature Jotaro could see under the clothes, she exercised regularly. She probably had good stamina. She would need it if she didn't want to faint in bed with Michiru.

"What is your name?" asked Jotaro casually. The blonde stiffened before taking her chance.

"Ten'oh," replied the girl. "Haruka Ten'oh."

She hoped that this guy wouldn't beat her up for ogling his girlfriend, or worse, use her identity against her.

"Well, Miss Ten'oh," said Jotaro, making Haruka's eyes widen that he had seen through her disguise, "Miss Kaioh here has something important to tell you."

Hearing that, Michiru fell on the ground before rising up, her left eye twitching.

"That's your master plan?" she asked indignantly.

"Well, yes," answered Jotaro casually. "After all, honesty is the best policy."

Michiru glared at him before he gestured at Haruka. As she turned to her, her eyes lost their anger before getting a gentle look that hadn't been here before. It then left place for an emotion Haruka recognized immediately: hesitation.

"Hum," started Michiru, which was quite eloquent given her frantic state of mind, "I noticed you yesterday in the park and I got a strange feeling... Kind of like déjà vu... But it is ridiculous. After all I don't even know you. It makes what I have to tell you even more ridiculous. It is just a rationalization of what I feel..."

"You're rambling, Michiru," interrupted Jotaro gently. "Get to the point."

"Right," replied Michiru. And just like that she calmed down and looked Haruka straight in the eye with staggering intensity and a faint blush on her cheeks. "All of this was just to say one thing. I love you." At hearing these words, Haruka's breath stopped, her eyes widened and her heartbeat accelerated. "Would you go out with me?"

Haruka didn't move. She didn't believe any of this was real. Jotaro noticed and decided to help her.

"Just kiss her already," he told Haruka. "You know you want to."

Haruka heard and decided to heed his advice. She cupped Michiru's cheeks between her hands and leaned in on her. Their lips met and it felt to her as if a firework had lit up in her heart. This was real. She was kissing the girl of her dream. And judging from her moans, she liked it a lot. Their lips parted and she noticed that Michiru had a glazed look that told how much she had appreciated this.

"Well, looks like I'm not needed anymore," said Jotaro casually. "You'd better find a hotel room."

"Why is that?" asked Haruka.

"She's horny," replied Jotaro while shrugging. "She wants to take you into a bed, tear your clothes off of your body and ravage you until you're screaming in orgasmic pleasure."

Haruka went very red at this explicit description. Michiru too. She also became indignant. What would Haruka think?

"JOTARO!" she shouted indignantly. She would have sent some well thought nasty comments at him but he had already sauntered away. It hadn't even come to her mind to hit him. The only time she had tried she had almost broken her hand and Jotaro had barely felt anything. Michiru turned embarrassed to Haruka. To her surprise, Haruka looked pensive.

"He was your lover, wasn't he?" she asked Michiru. "And you left him for me, didn't you?"

"Yes," answered Michiru simply. Haruka looked wonderingly at Jotaro's retreating form.

"He really is something else," said Haruka with awe in her voice. "You are the one leaving him and he is making it so you don't feel guilty about it. I'm not sure I could ever do that."

Michiru sobered and realised that Haruka was right. Jotaro was gentle like that, he cared. She prayed that he found someone to love like she did. Haruka noticed Michiru's sad look and deduced that she was making peace with herself for forsaking Jotaro. She decided that she didn't like a sad Michiru and preferred it when she was blushing. She decided to get her back in her embarrassed state.

"So," she started casually with a smile. "What he said about you being horny, is it true?"

Michiru lost her sad face immediately and started blushing. She then smiled ruefully.

"I'd be lying through my teeth if I told you I weren't," she answered with a mixture of hope and lust in her voice. Haruka's smile grew wider.

"My parents rent a flat for me ten minutes away from here," she said. "Want to discuss there?"

Michiru said nothing. She just licked her lips and took Haruka's hand.

Jotaro was meanwhile coming to terms with this break-up with Michiru. He had acted as though he didn't care because it would make it easier on Michiru and because he was very good at acting as if he didn't care. But he did. It was true that he was happy for Michiru but he was also sad since their relationship would never be as deep anymore. He had been able to let his guard down around Michiru and he liked that. Although they remained friends, he couldn't relax around her since she wasn't his exclusively anymore. He prayed that he found someone else quick. He hadn't realised how much he had been relying on her. Sure he had friends but it just wasn't the same.

As he was wandering in the park, Jotaro heard a small cry of pain and fear. Its owner had to be a very young girl. Frowning, Jotaro followed the direction where he had heard the cry and soon arrived in a secluded part of the park. He didn't like what he found.

A young girl clad in a school uniform with purplish black hair cut in a helmet shape with purple eyes was lying on the ground and clutching her belly in obvious pain. She had tears in her eyes and a bruise on the cheek. There were five boys around her, teenagers, laughing cruelly and visibly proud of themselves.

"You get what you deserve, freak," sneered one of them.

"She didn't get enough," laughed another before leering at her. "I wonder how developed she is under all these clothes."

"Good idea," said a third. "Let's beat her some more before."

He cocked his fist and got ready to hit her. The young girl had avoided crying so far but this was too much. She didn't understand what the leering tormentor had implied was but she already feared it. She let out a cry as well as her tears and closed her eyes, hoping for it to finish soon.

The blow never came.

The young girl sobbed while waiting. They were probably toying with her some more.

"The depth of my scorn for you can't be compared with anything within the reach of your pitiful minds," said a new voice dripping with scorn.

Startled, the girl stopped sobbing, although tears continued to trail down her cheeks, and opened her eyes.

Jotaro was holding the wrist of the boy who had tried to hit her and was looking at the boys with barely concealed hatred. The boy whose wrist he had caught was trying to free himself but Jotaro was as immovable as a rock.

"Let me go, you bastard!" shouted the boy he was holding.

"So you can beat her some more and rape her?" snapped Jotaro. "I don't think so."

"Why are you siding with the freak?" snorted one of the other boys. The boys had yet to realise the danger they were into. Jotaro ignored them and turned to the still crying girl.

"Do you have any idea why they call you a freak?" he asked. "For that matter, what is your name? Mine is Kujo, Jotaro Kujo."

"Don't ignore us you freak lover," snarled one of the boys.

The girl noticed that Jotaro didn't even care for him. Contrary to the boys, she had noticed that Jotaro was much more than he let on. She decided to trust him. She might have had to mature too fast but she still retained some of her childish trust.

"Tomoe," she answered. "Tomoe Hotaru. They beat me on because I can heal wounds on people and on myself."

"She's a freak!" shouted one of the boys. "She probably hurt them before healing them, just to make herself look good."

Hotaru folded on herself at the accusation. It hurt that people thought that. She looked at Jotaro and noticed that he was looking at her with scepticism. She almost cried. Either he thought she was a freak or he didn't believe her. She expected him to speak and he did.

"That's it?" he asked. "You heal people and these pathetic wastes of space think you're a witch? Just because of that?"

Hotaru blinked her tears away. It wasn't the response she had expected, although she liked this one better.

"You're siding with the freak?" asked a boy haughtily. "Then we will beat you with her!"

Jotaro snorted. The boy who had talked cocked his fist and punched him straight in the nose. At least that was his intention. Jotaro barely moved but it was enough to counter that. He lowered his head slightly so that the guy's punch would hit his forehead and propelled himself in the way of the punch. There was a loud audible crack as the boy's fist broke in several places as well as his wrist. He howled in pain and rolled on the ground clutching his hand. Bones could be seen piercing the back of it. Hotaru looked at it in shock then looked at Jotaro. He didn't even have a bruise on his forehead.

"You really shouldn't have beaten her," he said scornfully. "And you should have quit when you had the opportunity. Now prepare to suffer."

He took the boy he was holding and starting to whirl him around as if he were a vulgar bag. Jotaro released the screaming boy and let him fly into another one. The two of them collapsed in a heap, the one having received the flying other losing his breath in the process. The two other looked stupidly while the flying one got back up staggering a bit due to the whirls he had suffered from.

"Get him!" he shouted.

The two remaining boys looked startled before advancing threateningly towards Jotaro.

Only to have their path blocked by a falling tree. They shrieked and eyed the tree stupidly.

"What happened?" asked one.

"Didn't think you would catch it," said Jotaro neutrally. "Let's do it in slow motion this time."

The boys and Hotaru eyed him disbelievingly as he walked up to a tree. Their disbelief turned into shock and fear as Jotaro cut the fifty centimetre wide tree with one strike of his bare hand. He then punched the falling tree slightly on the boys. They shrieked and avoided it but barely.

"You don't really think that Hotaru is a freak," said Jotaro in a deadly tone. "You're just jealous little twits and you wanted to beat up, hurt and eventually humiliate a girl who you knew wouldn't defend herself, maybe even worse. You are trash, nothing more. Pathetic wastes of space that would be of better use dead. Unfortunately, I don't kill indiscriminately, even though you deserve it. But I will hurt you."

Jotaro then activated the Neko-ken. The blackish purple aura enshrouded him and he diverted some ki to his face to make it look demonic and redden his eyes. He looked terrifying. The boys started to get really scared. Hotaru was a bit afraid but since Jotaro's focus wasn't aimed at her she was sensibly less scared than the boys.

"You wanted a freak," he said in a demonic hiss. "Now you've got a monster on your hands."

And he struck.

The boys howled in pain and terror as Jotaro's ki claws lacerated them. They ended up fainting one after the other as the pain from the cuts became too great. Jotaro them deactivated the Neko-ken and turned to Hotaru. Hotaru eyed him with a mixture of fear and wonder.

"You have nothing to fear from me," said Jotaro gently. "Let's go talk somewhere else. I actually wanted to hurt something and these cockroaches unknowingly volunteered. I feel better now."

Hotaru relaxed before eyeing the downed boys inquisitively.

"What about them?" she asked.

"Let's leave them," snorted Jotaro. "They aren't hurt much, just in pain for a while. They don't deserve to be healed by you."

The fact that her powers were something to be respected was a new concept to Hotaru. She followed Jotaro, although she didn't consciously step on the boys like he did. They arrived near a pond and sat on a bench.

"You have a supernatural power," said Jotaro as a means of introduction. "It thus makes you superior to the vast majority of the normal humans. Therefore, a great part of them are going to resent it and will try to make you feel bad for having it. Don't let them. You are better than them and they know it. As a former friend of mine said: Fuck them all, be proud of yourself and what you are and crush the ignorant masses like the pathetic bugs they are if they bother you. The one who told that to me has a power which side-effect allows him to heal people, just like you."

"Really?" asked Hotaru with wonder. "You say that but you don't have a power."

"I have a power," replied Jotaro. "You just can't see it."

With that said, he summoned Star Platinum and made it juggle with swords in front of him. Hotaru opened wide eyes when she saw that. She was definitely convinced.

"I knew a lot of people with abilities similar to mine, including the one who told me what I told you," continued Jotaro. "His case was a special one. He was the embodiment of life and thus couldn't be killed. It made him a virtual god among men but he didn't even abuse his insane power, except when he wanted to play pranks. If you abuse your powers, you give people more reason to hate you. It's up to you what you decide to do but keep that in mind. You can do whatever you want as long as you don't care about what people say. It is however harder to actually do than it sounds. We human beings aren't made to totally ignore the opinion of our kin."

Hearing someone talk about her powers so casually but as something to be respected opened a dam in Hotaru's mind and she talked. She told Jotaro how she had discovered her powers when she was four, how she had been terrified of them since she realised that it wasn't normal, how she had wanted to help her peers with them and how she had been shunned because of them. All the while, Jotaro listened attentively.

"Young children your age very rarely understand powers like yours and are just jealous of you," he finally said. "Even though you are lonely because of it, don't be too sad. It's not exactly their fault they are stupid and jealous. Every kid secretly dreams of having super powers. Others like the ones who attacked you are just stupid and evil. Don't remain near them. Sometimes later, you will find people who are willing to be your friends and who will respect you for your abilities. It will happen, don't worry."

"I hope so," sighed Hotaru. "I wish I was strong enough to resist bullies like you."

"You are too small and don't have the necessary training," replied Jotaro. Hotaru lowered her head sadly. Seeing that, he added: "But I can teach you how to defend yourself without the use of strength."

Hotaru perked up at that.

"How?" she asked.

"By redirecting your opponents' strength," answered Jotaro casually. "I can also teach you how to take a hit and flow around it so as to soften the blows to the point that they don't hurt anymore even though you take them. It won't be easy, mind you, but it will still help you. Stand up for your first lesson."

For the next two hours, Jotaro demonstrated several defensive arts to Hotaru and taught them to her. He also discovered that once in the right mindset, Hotaru was an almost natural Xiao-lee user. Jotaro taught her the basics and gave her dates when he would be in Juuban Park for her to train with him. Before parting, they talked some more.

"What is rape?" asked Hotaru at one point. "I'm pretty sure it is painful but I don't know what it is."

Jotaro felt silent at that. He looked at her for a moment before deciding that honesty was the best policy.

"Since you have supernatural powers, you probably believe in magic," said Jotaro. "What you don't know is how varied magic can be. It notably allows people to shapeshift."

With that said, Jotaro splashed himself with cold water and proceeded to explain the curse to Hotaru. Hotaru digested it but she was way less disbelieving than most people when faced to Jotaro's curse.

"Why are you telling me about your curse?" asked Hotaru.

"If you want to understand what rape is, I have to give you the Talk," answered Jotaro. "Trust me, it will be easier for both of us if I am in my girl form."

True to her words, Jotaro proceeded to give Hotaru the Talk. Hotaru was blushing madly, especially since Jotaro decide to explain to her the finer points of lovemaking.

"Why did you have to explain that to me?" asked Hotaru still bright red.

"Well, you would have had it at school, but not necessarily as extensive," answered Jotaro. "I have answered several questions you would have wanted to ask but wouldn't have dared. Some of the things I explained will have to wait for you to live through them to understand. As for why I told it to you, you have to know that the mechanism of rape is the same as sex. However, one of the participants isn't willing."

"It's... bad," stated Hotaru as bit put off at the description.

"It's worse than that," said Jotaro firmly. "It's the ultimate violation of one's self and the ultimate affront that can be made to one's privacy. It has been known to literally destroy some of its victims. Something that should be made out of love is twisted and made into a means of hurting. Sometimes it is used just to prove a point. Since there is no love, it is done roughly and thus it hurts. Then there is the fact that since the victim tries to resist she is often beaten up and hurt. Then comes the worst part. If the victim is unlucky, she will feel some pleasure from it and deduce that she deserves the fate that happened to her. It's vicious like that. It couldn't be more false but it often happens and leads to intense self-loathing even thought though it isn't the victim's fault."

Hotaru gulped. It sounded terrible. She shivered at the thought that the boys had wanted to do that to her.

"Just remember that if anyone ever coerces you into having sex, it is rape, be it a physical threat or a psychological one like a threat to stop loving you, then it is rape and the person wants to hurt you, even though she seems to love you. Some people rape out of love, remember that," detailed Jotaro sombrely.

Hotaru shivered some more.

"That said, you don't have to be terrified of sex," added Jotaro. "If you feel ready and somebody wants to have sex, don't hesitate too much. Making love is the ultimate expression of love and it is something beautiful when done correctly. You're probably too young to understand but you will soon."

Hotaru nodded. What Jotaro had said about rape had scared her but he had told things that interested her also. She was curious about this masturbation thing, it sounded pleasurable enough.

"It's time for me to go back," said Jotaro. "You are okay to go home by yourself?"

"Sure," replied Hotaru happily.

"Well then, see you in three days," he said.

She went away, feeling content. It was only later that she realised that she didn't feel sad about Michiru's loss anymore. She was glad for that but still hope that she could find another partner. She couldn't have sex with Hotaru, even she had limits.

* * *

In her flat, Haruka came to her senses to a radiant and sweaty Michiru.

"Damn it," she swore. "I can't believe I fainted. Jotaro could have told me that you were a goddess in bed. I look like a wimp, now."

"Well, you just lack practise," replied Michiru. "I was a like you when I first started sleeping with him."

"I'm sure he planned it," said Haruka in a fake dark tone. "This is his master plan to get revenge on me for stealing you."

"We will have to remedy to that," said Michiru. "Nothing better than practise to bring you to my level."

As Michiru pounced on her, Haruka wondered if she should curse Jotaro or send him flowers for making Michiru as proficient in the sexual arts as she was.

* * *

As she was in her female form, Jotaro wondered why on Earth everything that Ranma had done was biting her in the ass. A strange man called Mr Yoyo had asked her to step on his head when she had wandered in his garden. She shouldn't have tried to emulate Ryoga's ability to get lost, in retrospect it was pretty stupid but Akane had managed to compel her to do so. It had worked beyond her expectations and now she was in this strange place where the owner wanted her to step on his head. She had indulged and then he had tried to stun her to bring her back with him. Jotaro had avoided the hit and the beating that had followed had been extensive. She had then learned that it had been done because Mr Yoyo remembered a stunning woman who had stepped on him once. Jotaro remembered that Genma had stolen a meal to somebody like that. The youth figured that marrying the woman of her dreams would help him get his family's finances back in the black. Jotaro thought this was stupid. But there was something else she could do.

Mr Yoyo's house's hot spring was blocked by an enormous rock. If said rock was destroyed, the hot spring would be restored and Mr Yoyo could finally pay his debts. Jotaro wondered how he could have had enough money to organize a competition to find the woman of his dreams and not enough to buy explosives to destroy the rock. He creates a grenade out of ki and threw it on the rock. The explosion destroyed the rock and hot water sprouted from the ground.

"At last the hot spring work again!" shouted Mr Yoyo in elation as he embraced Jotaro. "Let's get married to celebrate."

"As you wish," replied Jotaro. "But you'd better have lubricant or it will hurt you the first time."

Mr Yoyo noticed several things that were wrong. First the voice that had said that was masculine. Second the Jotaro he was embracing lack feminine endowments. He turned towards Jotaro and noticed that he was holding a very male person. He then realised what he had implied when he had answered him and had a relatively spontaneous reaction.

He screamed like a little girl and jumped into his butler's arms.

"Well, you don't seem bisexual to me," said Jotaro neutrally. "Shame. I need that condition in my partners. You obviously won't be one."

He took off on these words, leaving Mr Yoyo to mule on this. He had two problems right now.

First, he had to find a way to go back to Mikoto's house.

Second, he was horny. And a tad bit lonely.

He needed a partner, and fast.

* * *

Jotaro was currently walking to the Tendos. He had finally found what he had searched for so long. He had to act now and he had a strong suspicion he had to check.

Upon his arrival, he noticed with displeasure that Nodoka Saotome was here. As he entered he noticed that Akane was eyeing her father, Nabiki and Nodoka with obvious anger. Genma was noticeably absent.

"I don't know what happened," he said bluntly to Akane, ignoring the others superbly, "but we have something rather urgent to check."

Akane lost most of her anger and eyed him quizzically.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I have found the probable source of your curses," answered Jotaro. "And it probably is in Kasumi's bedroom."

"Kasumi?" asked Akane startled. "Why Kasumi?"

"You'll understand once you see what it is," Jotaro shot back.

He went towards the stairs. Before he reached them, he felt something whirl toward him. He put a hand behind him. He caught a knife just before it pierced his heart. He turned slowly and eyed Nodoka dead in the eye. Nodoka, hand still outstretched from throwing the knife, eyed him with dread. How he had stopped that attack, she had no idea.

"If you had left me be," said Jotaro slowly but threateningly, "I would have left you be. Unfortunately for you, you attacked me, with a knife at that. I... absolutely... despise... knife users."

A sickly aura enshrouded him. It wasn't the Neko-ken, more like a variation of Soun's Demon Head technique. Nodoka looked scared now.

"I'm going to make you regret ever attacking me with a knife," he said.

And he _moved_. Suddenly, Nodoka's world exploded in pain. It was so intense that she fainted. She collapsed on the ground under Soun's dismayed gaze. It was obvious when she fell that her elbows, knees and shoulders were dislocated. It was quite obvious why she had fainted to the others. The pain must have been enormous. Jotaro eyed her with scorn and pressed a single point on her solar plexus.

"What have you done?" said Soun in an anguished voice.

"I was attacked and I retaliated," said Jotaro neutrally. "I don't see the problem."

"The problem is that she was willing to cook for us!" shouted Soun irately. "Kasumi is ill and can't cook. Now, because of you, we will have to rely on Akane's cooking and it is terrible."

Akane's face darkened at that. It was obviously a sore point for her and Soun had rubbed it in.

"Why don't you cook yourself, or even make Nabiki do it?" asked Jotaro a bit curious. Akane's head snapped up.

"Hey, that's true!" she exclaimed. "Why don't either of you ever cook?"

Soun tried to say something before closing his mouth. Nabiki eyed the floor intently.

"You don't know how to cook," stated Jotaro. "And you're too lazy to do anything about it so you let your two daughters do it and whine when it isn't done. Every time I think you can't get more pathetic you surprise me. It's sad, really."

Without any other word, Jotaro went up the stairs, followed by Akane. He didn't even pause in front of Kasumi's bedroom and entered the room without knocking. Kasumi was a bit surprised that someone had entered her room without knocking. Her breathing stopped when she saw that it was Jotaro. She strangled a cry and started to shake, afraid of what he would do to her. She relaxed slightly when she saw that Akane was with him but only slightly. She knew that if Jotaro wanted to do something to her he wouldn't stop on her sister's account. Besides, Akane had been cold to her recently. She might not even help her since she had some pent up frustration with her elder sister.

Jotaro started to peruse her library. He did so for a minute before taking and old book in his hands. He then turned to Kasumi and eyed her in a way that sent shivers down her spine.

"What is this book?" asked Akane.

"This book is the reason for your curses," replied Jotaro. "It is also the reason why Tofu has to behave so irrationally in her presence. She cursed him too."

Akane eyed Jotaro shell-shocked. Then she whirled on Kasumi, her anger clearly visible. She grabbed her by the collar of her nightgown. As feeble as she was, Kasumi couldn't counter her much.

"Why did you curse me, you unforgivable bitch!" she shouted in her sister's face.

"Bu-but..." stammered Kasumi. "I didn't curse you! I just did a ritual that would enhance my ability in the kitchen, my swimming abilities and would keep perverted boys away from me!"

"You obviously didn't read the instructions fully," said Jotaro idly. "Everything you gained has resulted in a loss for someone. That someone happens to be your sister. It is fortunate that these curses are reversible. You'll just lose the enhancements in the process."

"But you can't!" cried Kasumi. "I was rubbish in the kitchen before this ritual."

Jotaro's eyes hardened and he suddenly was in Kasumi's face, making her try to recoil in terror. Since Akane was still holding her, she didn't exactly manage.

"I wasn't asking for you permission, you egoistical bitch," he said dangerously. "I was telling you what would happen. And we need your blood to dissipate all of these curses as well as Tofu's."

"The one I sent on Tofu didn't work," argued Kasumi. "I sent it on him so that he noticed me more but all he does is act like a clown when he sees me."

If possible, Jotaro looked even more dangerous when he heard that, making Kasumi shiver.

"You have no idea of the torment you've submitted him to," growled Jotaro. "I wouldn't wish it on most of my enemies and you submitted him to it without even caring, you irresponsible girl."

"What is this curse you speak of?" asked Akane curious.

"It's a terrible one," answered Jotaro before turning back to Kasumi, extremely angry. "He notices you, all right. Let me tell you how much. Each time he sees you, he is taken by a compulsion that would make him defile you. For about as long as he has known you, each time he has seen you he wanted nothing more than to grab you roughly, tear you clothes off of your body, send you sprawling and crying of the floor and introduce his rock hard penis into your tight little virgin cunt. He wanted to make you bleed, cry and beg him to stop. And he wanted to smear his semen on your quivering broken naked form. It goes against everything that he stands for and it has brought him considerable anguish. That's why he behaves irrationally around you, so he doesn't give in to the compulsion."

Akane looked at her sister with horror and no small amount of disgust.

"How could you inflict it to him?" she asked venomously.

"I didn't know!" wailed Kasumi. "I thought it would make him love me!"

"The compulsion part is bad enough but what makes me mad is how you coerced him into loving you," grounded Akane through her teeth. "Love is supposed to be something beautiful. By forcing it, you have twisted it. You don't love Tofu. You just wanted to control him."

"It is time to reverse all the curses," said Jotaro has he took a ritualistic knife from Doorspace. "Give me your arm."

Kasumi eyed him fearfully.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked clearly afraid.

"Take some blood from you to counter the curses," replied Jotaro. "Now give me your arm or I will take the blood from your corpse."

Kasumi shivered at the coldness of the tone. She gave her arm reluctantly to Jotaro. He chanted something in a language that sounded like old Chinese and cut her arm with the knife. Kasumi cried in pain. Jotaro let blood flow on the ground and drew a pentagram with several obscure symbols in it with the blood. He then took chalk from... somewhere and drew some more before chanting again. He then put some more of Kasumi's blood in several parts of the pentagram. At that moment, several hisses were heard from Akane and a black cloud formed around her before dissipating. Several rays of light then sprung from Kasumi's chest to Akane's. Both sisters gasped. Another one shot from out of the house and struck Kasumi's chest again. Jotaro presumed that it came from Tofu. The lights then receded. Jotaro released Kasumi's arm and she cradled it and stopped the flow of blood with her bed sheets.

* * *

"Looks like it worked," said Jotaro neutrally. Let's check in the kitchen."

He went away with Akane. Kasumi would have asked him to clean the mess he had done in her bedroom if she hadn't been so scared of him. She would have to do something. Since the curses had been annulled, she had lost most of her proficiency in the kitchen and at swimming. She had to find a way to get them back. She sighed. It probably meant that she would have to learn the hard way, by herself. She wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

She also shivered at the thought of losing her protection against perverts. Even Happosai hadn't dared to do much to her. She would have to keep him at bay by herself now.

"It's perfectly edible," said Jotaro as he tasted Akane's lasagne. "It's not as good as some of the ones I ate but it is quite good for a first time. With some practise you can become an impressive cook."

"Thank you," said Akane clearly pleased. "But why did you tell me to make only enough for two people?"

"Do you really think that your father and sisters deserve some after the shit they put you through?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

Akane didn't answer. She didn't need to, really. Soun and Nabiki would spend most of the meal lamenting that they were forbidden to eat Akane's cooking and had to rely on cup ramen.

* * *

"A love fishing rod?" asked Jotaro to Ryoga. "How distasteful."

"It probably doesn't even work," said Ryoga with a smirk. "I found the concept funny, so I bought one."

"There is magic in it," countered Jotaro. "Which mean that it likely works. Which means that you can make anyone a slave to your whims with it. And you wonder why I find it distasteful?"

Ryoga paused. Then glanced at his fishing rod with barely concealed disgust.

"I can't believe I bought something that evil," he said. "I should get rid of... ATCHOO!"

As he sneezed, Ryoga waived the fishing rod accidentally. Its sucker speeded towards Jotaro. Jotaro avoided it since he didn't trust the magical device. He then turned around and his eyebrows rose. Kuno had the sucker on his forehead. He had tried to challenge Jotaro once again. As Ryoga paled, he withdrew the sucker. It left a mark on Kuno's forehead. Kuno stopped in his advance and his eyes glazed over. Jotaro blinked as Kuno started to eye Ryoga like a piece of meat. He then dashed towards him and prostrated himself in front of him, raising eyes that looked disturbingly like puppy dog eyes. The effect on him was way more disgusting that it was cute.

"Hibiki-sama!" he sprouted with worship in his voice. "How may this unworthy peasant serve you? Should this filthy knave use his back for you to step on? Should he act as if he were your animal? Should he become your sexual slave for you to torture at your whim?"

Ryoga looked at Kuno with horror. Jotaro was doing his best not to laugh. He noticed that the sucker's mark was taking the form of a fish. He still thought that Kuno wouldn't follow through his promises and decided to humour him.

"Well, Kuno," he started. "What turns Ryoga the most is to see you doing your own sister. He has a fetish for incest."

"I see," said Kuno with the utmost seriousness. "I then shall find my nubile younger sister and introduce her to the pleasures of the flesh!"

And with that he was off. Jotaro blinked.

"I didn't think he would take me seriously," he noted. "I thought he would believe your word above all but it seems that he loses his rational mind when you are mentioned. This fishing rod is scary."

"I do not have an incest fetish!" exploded Ryoga eventually. "I am perfectly normal, dammit!"

"You know that and I know that but Kuno doesn't know that," retorted Jotaro. "It seemed like a good idea at the time to jerk his chain a little."

He then paused before paling slightly. Ryoga started to be scared. Jotaro didn't pale, ever. It had to be serious.

"Shit," uttered Jotaro with a frown. Ryoga was truly scared now. Jotaro didn't have the habit to swear either.

"What is it?" he asked fearfully.

"I just sent a lunatic madly in love with you on a quest to defile his own sister," explained Jotaro. "Given what I just saw, chances are he will really do it and won't stop until he manages to do it, even though you'd tell him to stop. Kuno is stubborn that way. And it would be my fault, I'm the one who put the idea into his head."

Ryoga's face became ashen.

"It would be my fault too," he whined. "I caught him with this stupid fishing rod... That's it!"

"You have an idea?" asked Jotaro quickly. It was a matter of time before Kuno performed his deed.

"If we break the spell the rod put on him, he will stop for good!" shouted Ryoga in elation. "And it can be done. Where is this manual?" He searched in his pockets for a few seconds before taking a leaflet triumphantly. "Here it is." He perused it quickly before finding what he had been searching for. "It says that the spell is lifted if the fish mark that results from it is taken away by the sucker of the fishing rod! I'm going to find Kuno!"

And with that he took off. Jotaro blinked before remembering something and cursed loudly. He then dashed after Ryoga but the guy was fast. He used Star Platinum's Time Stop to reach him.

"Ryoga! Stop!" he shouted as he grabbed Ryoga.

"What are you talking about?" replied Ryoga. "We have to reach Kuno fast!"

"We will manage it more easily if I lead us," countered Jotaro. "You get lost way too easily." He then paused and looked at their surroundings. "For that matter, where are we?"

The vegetation was luxurious, way too much for a Japanese setting. Except maybe for Okinawa. But Okinawa was nearly a thousand kilometres away from Nerima.

"DAMN IT TO HELL!" shouted Ryoga.

* * *

It took them seven hours to finally get back near Tokyo through the use of Ryoga's curse. After that, Jotaro was the one to lead them. He decided that given the hour, the most likely place to find Kuno would be his family's manor.

"Tell me again why I should follow you?" asked Ryoga.

"Because for all we know, only the person who used the rod to catch the victim can end the spell," explained Jotaro. "And with your sense of directions, I am the best leader out of the both of us."

"But did you have to put handcuffs on us?" growled Ryoga.

"It was so that I didn't lose you," countered Jotaro smoothly.

"Furred handcuffs?" almost shouted Ryoga. "People were eyeing us as if we were sexual freaks!"

"I didn't have anything else available," replied Jotaro. "Besides, it's good training for your shyness. And your future girlfriend might be into kinky stuff. So it's a win-win situation for you."

Ryoga's growl showed that he clearly disagreed.

Suddenly, a rather loud moan that unmistakeably came from Kodachi was heard, making Jotaro and Ryoga stop.

"We are too late," wailed Ryoga. "Kuno is raping his sister!"

"OH GOD YES!" suddenly shouted Kodachi in what sounded like the throes of passion. "HARDER, BROTHER DEAREST, _HARDER_!"

Jotaro turned to Ryoga with a neutral look. He noticed that Ryoga's eyes had gone extremely wide.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," started Jotaro, "but as far as I know, a rape implies that one of the participants is unwilling. She sounded pretty willing to me."

"How did this happen?" asked Ryoga while he paled.

"Well, to be fair, they are the only ones who can stand one another, so it's the best match-up for either of them," stated Jotaro. "The rumours of incest between them that I started might also have something to do with that."

"But that's incest!" shouted Ryoga.

"Bah!" snorted Jotaro. "Incest is overrated. It's just a taboo imposed by society that has close to no biological justification. As long as they don't want to have children, I don't see the problem. The only downside for them is that they can't get legally married."

Ryoga tried to find a counter-argument but didn't find one. Jotaro had... unique... views regarding society. He sighed.

"Well let's get it over with and get Kuno rid of the spell," he just said. "Hopefully he won't flip too much."

They entered the bedroom, Jotaro at a sedate pace while Ryoga was a lot more skittish. They found the Kuno siblings naked on a bed in a position that Jotaro found interesting. The siblings were in the middle of an orgasm and as such had not noticed the intrusion in Kodachi's bedroom. Ryoga capitalised on that and sent the sucker of the fishing-rod on Kuno's forehead. When he dragged it back, the sucker took the fish mark on Kuno's forehead with it. Kuno blinked, then he noticed where he was and most particularly in whom. He remained immobile for a few seconds.

"Do me again, brother of mine," asked Kodachi throatily.

Kuno remained still for a few seconds. Then he obliged and Kodachi's moans of pleasure started again. Ryoga eyed the scene blandly before being taken out of the bedroom by Jotaro.

"I didn't think he would accept that so easily," said Ryoga feebly.

"Look at it this way," replied Jotaro. "As long as they are into each other – pun non intended – Kuno will leave my girl form alone and Kodachi will leave you alone."

Ryoga shuddered as he remembered that Kodachi had been after him for a long time. He then remembered something.

"Won't she still want me?" he whimpered. "She did say that she wanted us both."

Jotaro paused.

"That... unfortunately is within the realm of possibilities," he said slowly before realising something even more unpleasant. "And Kuno might still want my girl form! Damn it!"

"Well, he is rather well endowed..." started Ryoga.

"But his foolishness makes him entirely too unattractive to my eyes," countered Jotaro. "I'd rather do you than Kuno. Speaking of which..."

Jotaro then took a canteen of water from Doorspace and splashed himself. The now female Jotaro sent a glassy look at Ryoga who suddenly looked extremely nervous.

"I'm feeling horny right now," she said lustily.

Ryoga stopped in his tracks and started to sweat. Jotaro then pressed her breasts together and Ryoga fainted with a nosebleed. Jotaro sighed.

"Still not immune to feminine flesh, I see," she wondered aloud. "I would have thought that the porn marathon would have desensitized him. Oh, well. Better get him away from here. I don't trust Kodachi not to turn her brother into a bisexual."

At the term 'Kodachi', Ryoga twitched. At the terms 'brother' and 'bisexual' he became fully awake and flew away while screaming, getting lost in the process. Jotaro paused and sighed. Why was Ryoga so uptight about bisexuality? Sure it was with Kuno but...

Jotaro paused and thought about it before repressing a shudder. Actually, that was a very good reason to be afraid. Jotaro wandered away from the Kuno mansion, trying to chase the disturbing images from her head.

* * *

Gosunkugi was happy. He finally had that armour that would enable him to beat the vile cur Jotaro Kujo and conquer the fierce tigress Akane Tendo. He realised that he was thinking like Kuno spoke and shook his head, shivering at the prospect. He had been around the deluded man way too long.

After he donned the armour, he walked near the place where Jotaro was discussing with Akane and activated a special feature of the armour. It would cuff Jotaro to it and not release him till he was beaten. Gosunkugi activated the feature gleefully and laughed maniacally when the satisfying 'click' was heard.

"What are you doing?" asked Jotaro.

Gosunkugi was about to gloat about his victory when he noticed something disturbing. Jotaro had spoken from behind him. Who was he holding prisoner?

He turned his head slowly and received a murderous gaze from Akane who was holding her wrist with the cuff.

"I'd like to know that as well," she said smouldering.

Gosunkugi started to wail and explained why exactly he had done that and what the feature he had activated was.

"That's all well and dandy but how do I take this armour off?" asked a still angry Akane. "If you say that I have to be beaten by you, you are going to miss your eyes."

Gosunkugi sweated. At that moment, a countdown started.

"Uh oh," he said anxiously.

"What is it?" asked Jotaro.

"If I don't beat her in two minutes, the armour will explode, taking both of us in the explosion," gulped Gosunkugi.

Akane looked ready to explode before calming herself.

"Not a problem for me," she said. "My family's techniques allow me to withstand it. You, on the other hand, are about to explode."

"You have to help me!" wailed Gosunkugi.

Jotaro touched a point in the armour and it immediately fell in pieces. Jotaro then plucked the bomb with the countdown and tinkered with it for a few seconds. The countdown stopped.

"You should know better than playing with toys you don't understand," he just said to Gosunkugi.

Akane nodded at that. If anything, it had crushed Gosunkugi's heart way more than Jotaro's dismissal of his intelligence.

* * *

A.N: Filler chapter, mostly, even if some funky facts are introduced. No, I didn't made Hotaru Jotaro's new lover, I have some restraint (at least I think so...). And no, this story still won't be a Sailor Moon crossover. The characters are just here as cameos.

As for the curses, I wanted to desacralize Kasumi somewhat. She's nearly always presented as a Saint in a human body. I wanted to try something different but not too extreme so I made her a rather normal girl who takes the easiest route to solve her problem and is a bit cowardly. Nodoka being there was just a side-effect. It's not the last time she appears.

As for the part with the love fishing rod, well, it seemed funny and a Kuno siblings pairing has never been done before (at least to my knowledge). Sure it is incest but they still look assorted together... And I probably got desensitized to it since I have read way too many hentai mangas (try searching for one featuring a brother and a sister that doens't degenerate into an incest story, it's damn hard to find). As for the remark about incest, I don't exactly agree to it but the fact remains that it still mostly is a cultural taboo. Sure, it leads to consanguinity but the effects seem to vanish after several generations (look it up on Wikipedia if you don't believe me, I was rather surprised by what I read at first). The taboo mostly stems from cultural and religious matters. Still, it has to be mentioned that in several countries (including mine, France), it isn't explicitly forbidden by law (if it occurs between consenting adults, at least. All bets are of if one of the participant is a minor [I should hope so], even a willing one). It doesn't occur that often due to the social stigma attached to it. However, many royal lines practised it to some degree (Pharaohs went as far as systematically marrying their sisters due to some divine properties of their lines). As for religions... well, most of them start humankind with only one couple. Their children had to practise it to perpetrate the species, didn't they?

In the end, the main problem I have with incest is that it is way too often a side-effect of rape. And because of the family ties the victims are less inclined to warn authorities. And sometimes, their own parents don't believe them. Some of them even condone it and the nightmare continues from year! (I unfortunately didn't invent it. I just read the newspapers).

Enough with the sombre subject. Next time, Herb appears.


	23. Elvenpath

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XXII) Elvenpath

As it was raining in Nerima, three figures approached. The one in the middle was reasonably tall, about one hundred and seventy centimetres, and wore a cloak that revealed nothing of it, save that its owner had glowing red eyes and two long bangs of dark blue hair that came out of the hood. The one on the left was sensibly taller, more than one hundred and ninety centimetres at the very least. It was a man with pointy ears, slitted eyes that gave him a feline appearance and dark hair, wearing several tiger pelt on his Chinese clothes and armour. Not only was he more than a head taller than the cloaked figure but he was at least twice as bulky. He looked like a tiger, a man-eating one at that. The last person was a small man, at least smaller than the other ones, maybe one hundred and fifty-five centimetres tall. He was very lean but his clothes hid how wiry his muscles were. He also had pointy ears and Chinese clothes but had blue hair and normal green eyes and was wearing a wolf pelt on his head and back, so that the ears were apparent on his head. He also had a Chinese sword strapped around his back. They were walking swiftly in the rain. The two animal warriors were looking around them expectantly.

"There are women around here," said the tiger-like man in an excited voice.

"I know Lime," sighed the cloaked figure in a soft voice that betrayed power and authority.

"And they have boobies!" shouted the smaller wolf-like man with glee.

"I know Mint," growled the cloaked figure.

"Lord Herb, can we invite some of these women for tea?" begged the tiger-man, whose name was Lime.

"Yes, maybe they'll show us their boobies," giggled the wolf-man, whose name was Mint, lecherously.

"Fine!" snapped the cloaked figure in exasperation, obviously known as Herb. "I'm giving you one hour before we meet back at the Nekohanten."

The two figures cried gleefully before parting ways. However, before parting ways, they performed a sign together. It was easy to guess from their signs that all was going according to plan. It then stopped raining.

* * *

Shampoo was going back to the Nekohanten from a delivery. She had forgone her bike and gone by foot with an umbrella since she would be splashed more easily on her bike. She suddenly headed face first into a strange man wearing a wolf pelt. He eyed her like a predator looks at a piece of meat. It unnerved Shampoo. Before she could tell him off, he spoke.

"An Amazon in Japan?" he just said cheerfully. "Great, you must know where the Nekohanten is."

Shampoo stiffened when she heard him. She recognized his accent. So the legends were true...

"What filthy Musk doing here?" she growled. Mint frowned.

"It's not nice insulting people," he said calmly but with an undertone of reproach. "I just asked you a simple question. If you really want to know, my leader has things to discuss with your matriarch."

"As if Shampoo believe beast like you," snarled Shampoo. Mint's frown deepened.

"You know, I have tried being nice with you," he said threateningly. "But if you are insulting I will have to do the same." He then got a lecherous grin before shouting: "Boobies!"

Shampoo was suddenly felt up by what felt like a human octopus. Worse, Mint's ministrations were actually turning her on. She had to stop him. With a cry of outrage she swung at him. Unfortunately, as he dodged her, she stepped on a puddle of water and didn't manage to get her balance back due to her umbrella. She smashed her head on the pavement and fainted due to the concussion. Mint stared.

"Geese," he said. "I thought Amazons were supposed to be fearsome warriors. If they are all like her we could attack them with our retired warrior and win. Or maybe she has gone lax in her training since she went to Japan. Well, I might as well bring her with me, she will make a good distraction for Herb."

He put the girl on his shoulder and went away, searching for the Nekohanten.

* * *

Akane didn't know what to think. The tiger-man in front of her had asked her if he could have tea with her and after she had cautiously answered afirmatively he had asked if he could touch her breasts (although he had called them "boobies"). Akane would have pummelled him into oblivion if not for two facts.

First, this man called Lime was extremely strong. She could tell it. He was easily stronger than Taro's cursed form, which was no small feat. He might even be stronger than Jotaro... except that she still didn't know how strong Jotaro actually was.

Second, he was faking his perversion.

Akane had taken to calling most boys perverts out of sadism. It was easy to discredit a male by calling him that in front of everyone. It often was enough to make him lose his dignity. But thanks to her training with Happosai, Akane had learned to sense the lust behind perversion. This guy didn't send of any lust and he wasn't able to mask his aura like Jotaro. Akane wondered why he was faking and decided to investigate.

"Why do you pretend to be a pervert?" she asked bluntly, making Lime freeze.

It wasn't that Akane wasn't subtle, far from it. It's just that she believed that truth was always more efficient than lies.

"You noticed?" asked Lime while he sighed. "Could you please play the part of the outraged young lady as I capture you to gloat about the fact that I have found boobies to my liege?"

Akane's eyebrows rose.

"Dare I ask why?" she asked.

"It's not my place to tell," answered Lime. "I'm trying to protect him but protocol doesn't allow me to help him directly. I haven't found any other way to help him."

Akane knew that there were many things that had been left out by Lime but since the guy had been honest and rather nice about it, she decided not to pry.

"Well, I'm willing to help you," she finally said. "What should I do?"

"Well," said Lime with a smile. "I will carry you on my shoulder to the place where I have to meet my liege. If you could protest audibly all the while, it would assert my cover as a pervert."

"Well, okay," replied Akane.

A while later, Lime was regretting his decision. Akane had been screaming obscenities all the while, insulting everything about him, from his looks to his parentage, not forgetting his sexual habits. This girl sure knew how to make one guy look bad. Well, he had asked. With a sigh, he put back his lecherous face and went to the Nekohanten. He hadn't even thought to ask her how she knew the Amazonian restaurant.

* * *

Herb looked at the quaint restaurant. It didn't look like it was successful, not like the Jusenkyohanten he had seen on his way. Come to think of it, maybe he should investigate it. Such a name couldn't have been given by chance. He finally entered the restaurant.

As expected, the Nekohanten was empty. Cologne was at a table trying to find a way to pay her suppliers. It was more difficult than one would think since the Nekohanten was hardly a thriving business. She managed but it didn't leave her with a wide margin of profit and thus prevented her from revamping the restaurant to make it more attractive. It was a vicious circle, really.

Herb entered silently and released the reins on his power. Cologne's head snapped. How had such a powerful individual managed to sneak on her? She then looked more closely and her eyes widened. This individual was monstrously powerful. She might have been able to hold her own against him six months before but since then she had had her fateful encounter with Jotaro and had never totally recovered. He would trounce her.

"Greetings, Elder Khu Lon," said the stranger. The fact that he knew her put her even more on edge. "I am prince Herb of the Jako dynasty."

Cologne's eyes widened. It should have been legend. But if it was true...

"The Musk? Impossible!" she shouted. "Your dynasty should be extinct!"

"We never bothered to correct this assumption of the Amazon," said the cloaked figure softly. "It is a tactical advantage over you after all. But I didn't come to talk about an invasion. It is of no interest for our people and thus I don't want that. No, what I want is..."

At that moment, the door of the Nekohanten opened and Mint entered with Shampoo on his shoulder, still out cold. Herb twitched and Cologne's eyes widened.

"Lord Herb!" he cried happily. "She has big boobies! Maybe she'll want to have tea with me. Maybe she'll show her boobies to me."

Herb twitched as Cologne's eyes widened.

"What have you done with my great-granddaughter?" she asked venomously. This one, she could take on. However, either Mint didn't realise it or he wasn't impressed, since he didn't react to the threatening aura Cologne put out.

"Well, I was asking if she could show me her boobies and she started to insult me," explained Mint oblivious. "Then she tried to hit me and when I avoided she tripped and hit her head on the pavement. Since she had a delivery box from the Nekohanten, I brought her back here."

Cologne's eyes twitched. The perverted fool wasn't lying and that was the worst of it. It meant that her great-granddaughter did trip and stun herself on the pavement. She had been way too lax in her training. Cologne would have to punish her. Herb had an altogether different reaction. He grabbed Shampoo gently, put her on a chair and bopped Mint on the head.

"You lecherous fool!" he snarled. "You don't ask a girl that bluntly that you want to see her breasts!"

"But she has big boobies..." whined Mint.

At that moment, the door of the restaurant opened once more, admitting Lime in with a rather irate girl on his shoulder.

"I shall taunt you to death!" she screamed at him. Lime sent a sad gaze at his companions before turning to her.

"How is that an insult or a threat?" he asked to Akane.

Akane looked at him with a rather deadpan look.

"I'm pretty sure I am out of insults," she replied bluntly. "I managed to make everyone in the vicinity aware of your zoophile tendencies and that your father made even more money than your mother when he prostituted himself. You really should have released me." Lime put her on the ground and made a show of clearing his ears. Akane suddenly lifted her head and added: "Your mother was a skunk and your father smelled of elderberries!"

"What do elderberries have to do with anything?" said Lime irritated.

"Well, I insulted your parentage but not your parents themselves," retorted Akane. "It usually work rather well. I wonder when people will start to ask you how much you take."

"I'm not too grateful about that," grumbled Lime.

"Well, you're the one who didn't know how perverts are treated when they abduct a girl, now you have an idea," said Akane neutrally. She then turned towards the figures in the restaurant and noticed the cloaked one. "You're his leader? You should know that for a pervert, he lacks experience. I can present him to a world-class pervert who has many things to teach him. His name is Happosai and..."

"Absolutely not!" shouted Cologne. Perverts of this calibre trained by Happosai... The very idea made her shudder.

"You're no fun," pouted Akane before becoming serious once more. "Why are you here, by the way?"

Herb didn't know what to think of the girl. She was powerful and skilled, he had noticed. And she liked to toy with people's minds, that much was obvious. If she didn't change tones that obviously, it would be extremely difficult to tell when she was serious or not. He turned back to Cologne.

"I came for a map that is in your possession, Elder," he said calmly but with a hint of threat in his voice. "The map to Mount Horai, to be precise. I need it."

Cologne sweated. She didn't have the map. She hoped that the Musk prince would realise that she was telling the truth or she would be in trouble.

"I don't have the map anymore," she said. "It was stolen six months ago."

"You're sure?" asked Herb in a soft terrible voice. "I would be most... upset if I found out you were lying."

"I'm not lying!" shouted Cologne frantically. "All of our scrolls were stolen six months ago. That's why we haven't gone back to our tribe. We have to recover these scrolls before we can."

Herb eyed her straight in the eye for a few seconds, his own red eyes glowing. He then snorted.

"I can tell that you are telling the truth," he said simply. "Who stole them from you?"

"Some young upstart called Jotaro Kujo," said Cologne hiding her devious smile. "He is part owner of the Jusenkyohanten. And he isn't likely to give the map back without a fight."

Herb looked at the old woman. She was telling the truth, all right. But she wasn't telling all of it, and figured that he didn't realise it. His apparent youth often made people react like that but it played in his favour. He decided to play in her game. He could always punish her later if she had lied to cause him harm.

"I'll be finding him, then," he said. "And I will retrieve this map."

"If you could retrieve anything else, I would be grateful," added Cologne trying to mask her glee but failing. It had decidedly been way too long since she had needed to be subtle and it showed.

"I can't promise anything," replied Herb. "But I'll take it in consideration."

"That's all I ask," replied Cologne.

At that moment, Shampoo woke up. She noticed that she was in the Nekohanten. Then she noticed that Mint was here as well as her great-grandmother and a character that was likely his Lord. She decided to pay him back.

"You!" she shouted at him. "How you dare use such cowardly attack against Shampoo?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said the cloaked figure, "but didn't you stun yourself by falling on the ground after tripping?"

"I think that's what your retainer said," added Cologne. "And from what I could tell, he wasn't lying."

Shampoo sweated. Not only had her plan to get back at Mint failed but her great-grandmother knew she had tripped. She whimpered audibly at the thought of the punishment that awaited her. Herb and his companions went out of the restaurant, pensive.

"The old woman was lying," eventually said Mint. "She wants us to do her dirty work for her."

"She actually never lied," added Lime. "She just never told us the whole truth."

"She wants us to confront this guy who stole her scrolls," finished Herb. "Which means that she doesn't want to fight him herself. Which means that he is most likely extremely powerful."

"He did beat her in a rather one sided battle," explained Akane. Herb and his retainers turned around. Akane had followed them out of the restaurant. "She came out of it with injuries that necessitated two weeks in the hospital while he got out of it without a scratch. It was awe-inspiring, really."

"I didn't know that," admitted Herb impressed. "It thus means that he is probably too powerful for me. Which means that the old hag wanted me to confront him and most likely lose. If I won, she would have recovered her scrolls and could have finished me since I wouldn't be able to fight at full power after such a dangerous opponent."

"She also wants to recover her artefacts," added Akane. "Jotaro has stolen everything from her. Besides escaping their kissing laws, that's the main reason why she hates him. But she doesn't dare to do anything against him since he is too powerful, crafty and vicious for her to take on head on. She has tried to rope him into promises but he doesn't promise lightly."

"Another thing she didn't tell us," acknowledged Herb. "This woman and I will have words about manipulating me." He then realised that he had been speaking to Akane all this time. "Wait. What are you doing here?"

"Taking stock of what is in store for Jotaro," answered Akane. "He pays me quite well to tell him anything unusual that happens in this town. You are unusual and you want to ask for something he owns. This makes two reasons for me to report you."

Herb got a calculating look.

"What can you tell us about this Jotaro Kujo?" he asked.

"If he estimates that you aren't worth his time, he ignores you splendidly despite all your efforts," detailed Akane. "If you bother him too much, he gets rid of you in the most humiliating way possible. I'm not sure what he does to people he hates but I'm pretty sure he kills them. There has been several Yakuzas and pimps found dead in this town since he arrived."

"And should he..." started Herb hesitantly, "appreciate you?"

"Then you can't find a better friend," said Akane fondly. "It doesn't always take much but he actually is very picky about them. I was an annoyance to him for a time before he recruited me for work. After that I learned more about him and that's how we became friends. If you become his friend, he will help you with the best of his ability. There's only one thing he demands from friends."

"And it is?" asked Lime.

"Truthfulness," answered Akane. "He can read people like books. If you are truthful with him and don't plan to use him for personal gain, he will probably become your friend."

"I don't have friends," replied Herb with noticeable sadness. "I cannot allow such weakness. I am a prince. The only people I trust are my retainers."

"It's a bad deal," replied Akane. "Being a prince is not worth being that lonely. At least I don't think so but then again, what do I know? I've never been a princess. I hope for your sake that it is a rewarding position. The Jusenkyohanten is down this street. I'll warn them that you're coming. Later."

And with that she went off, leaving Herb and his two companions to ponder what she had said.

"She is right, you know, Herb," finally said Lime. "You need friends, or at least people who you know you can trust besides us two."

"My father said that friends were a weakness," said Herb sullenly.

"Your father is also known for being an idiot, you know it," countered Mint. "He nearly provoked a few wars. If your grandfather, the King of Jako, hadn't intervened, it would have happened. You shouldn't take his advice at heart."

Herb was still visibly conflicted. On the one hand, his father had said that friends were weaknesses. On the other hand, his father was known for being an idiot. The last of his advice proved it since it had led to this difficult situation. Herb never acknowledged it but he had a pernicious feeling that his father didn't love him and only wanted to use him. But it couldn't be true, could it?

However, he longed for friends. He liked Mint and Lime, even though they were perverted idiots. They had been his combat instructors since he could walk. But he knew that he was virtually alone. Lime and Mint were restrained by protocol. It would be nice to have a friend who didn't care about his status and to whom he could speak about everything...

Suddenly, Herb wondered whether this Jotaro character could be his friend. From what Akane had told, he was interesting.

* * *

"They're coming," said Akane as she watched from the window.

She had just told Jotaro, Happosai, Mousse and Taro what she had learned from the arrivals. They were thus expecting them. As they entered and came to view, Jotaro noticed something about the cloaked figure, something that Akane hadn't noticed. He decided to fill that in for later. He also noted that Happosai had noticed too. When Herb entered, he noticed Jotaro from the description he had had of him and felt something strange inside him. He ignored it from the time being.

"You are Herb," he just said without preamble. "You are the prince of the Musk dynasty. They were famous in the Jusenkyo area for drowning animals in the Spring of the Drowned Girl and locking them in their cursed state to breed with them, so as to produce children who had animal instincts and prowess. This use of the spring was banned later on but most of your people retain animal traits. Unless I'm mistaken, one of Lime's ancestors was a tiger and Mint had a wolf among his family. You have animal traits too, if your eyes and your aura are anything to go by, but I don't know which since I can't see you well."

"It was a dragon," replied Herb, a bit unnerved by Jotaro's knowledge and deductive abilities, although he didn't show it. "Several of my ancestors were dragons before they became extinct."

"That would explain part of my ignorance," conceded Jotaro. "I have never seen a dragon. You are rather proficient in combat and extremely powerful, almost a match for Happosai in terms of raw energy. But you still lack knowledge of real combat and war, which is a good thing for you given how mind breaking war can be. You have never killed anyone either, which is also a good thing for you. I wish I could say the same. Your servants are also extremely powerful, with Lime being a monster of physical strength and Mint being extremely fast."

Herb and his servants were aghast. Jotaro had deduced that just from looking at them. It was something beyond casual observation, Jotaro had literally read them like books. But he wasn't finished.

"You also have secrets you are not willing to tell, which is understandable since you are royalty in your country," finished Jotaro. "But there is at least one that you are hesitating to tell, given how edgy you are. But still, I must know. Why would you want the map to mount Horai?"

Herb thought on it for a few seconds before deciding that the potential help he could get was worth the risk of a perfect stranger discovering his secret. Besides, he didn't know why but he trusted Jotaro. It might have been because of what Akane had told him, it might have been because of his chronic loneliness that had really gotten to him as of late or it might have been the fact that Jotaro had given up every advantage he was holding over them by telling them what he knew of them.

"Could I speak to you alone?" he asked. Jotaro eyed him for a minute before turning to Mousse.

"Is there a room we can borrow?" he asked the chef.

"There's the study," answered Mousse. "Take your time while we distract the rest of our guests."

Jotaro nodded and got up, beckoning Herb to follow him. Herb did so and followed Jotaro to the study where Jotaro closed the door behind him.

"So what do you want to talk about, Princess?" asked Jotaro idly. Herb gasped.

"You know?" replied a decidedly feminine voice. Under the shock, Herb had forgotten to disguise her voice.

"You hide it very well," commented Jotaro. "You even manage to walk manly despite your feminine body. But you're not adept at masking your ki and vital energy. It told me that you were female. Happosai knows too. He can see ki at least as well as me. Would you mind showing me your face now that you have nothing to hide from me?"

Herb sighed softly and removed her cloak. As she revealed herself, Jotaro paused. Herb was breathtakingly beautiful. She had a very delicate and refined face which framed her big red slitted eyes highlighted by thin eyebrows. Her long hair was tricoloured: silvery white for the front bangs, dark blue for the upper part and the middle bangs that framed her pointed ears and went down to her torso and pink for the back of her temples, her occiput and a ponytail that reached her buttocks, which was held by a golden bond made of needles. She was wearing a white Chinese outfit with red outlines and several plates of greenish yellow scaled armour on her waist, shoulders and forearms. The effect was that of a warrior goddess. At least that's what Jotaro thought when he finally saw her. Jotaro snapped back to reality and decided to try and see how Herb was taking her cursed form. It could only be a cursed form. Why would her subordinates call her Prince then?

"I don't know if it will make you feel better but you are extremely beautiful," he said bluntly. "And regal too. I should call you Queen instead of Princess. You actually remind me of a mix between Athena and Artemis, Greek goddesses of wisdom and hunt respectively."

Herb couldn't help it. She blushed at the praise. She had received too few of them during her childhood. Jotaro was making her feel things she wasn't accustomed to. She squashed these feelings and regained her countenance.

"I was actually born male, if you must know," she said rather neutrally. "I just couldn't reveal to my retainers that I had become female since they have absolutely no self-control in front of anything female. I couldn't tell anyone since it would have discredited me and I didn't want that. My people have a very dim view of women and I am ashamed to admit that I used to find it normal. Now that I am one, I find that positively scandalous. I need to find a way to change back to my male form before I do something about it or I won't have any legitimacy."

"Jusenkyo, Nyannichuan," said Jotaro simply. Herb eyed him curiously.

"How much do you know about Jusenkyo curses?" she asked.

In response, Jotaro took a canteen of cold water from... somewhere and emptied it on himself. Herb's eyes widened at the sight of Jotaro losing nearly a head of height and becoming so obviously female.

"More than most people," she replied. "At least enough to know that they mix and that the Nannichuan is no cure for this curse. Besides, I don't really want to get rid of it." She then took another canteen and held it out for Herb. "Hot water?"

"It won't work," answered Herb sadly. "My curse is locked. Hot water does nothing to it anymore."

Jotaro's eyebrows rose. Something that really locked curses and didn't prevent the victim from touching hot water like the Full Body Cat Tongue? This bore investigation. She considered the canteen and put it back in Doorspace without using it, having decided to show solidarity for Herb and knowing that she would confide herself more easily if Jotaro remained female. Herb's appreciation of Jotaro effectively went up at that simple gesture and she decided to be straight with her.

"The way I got myself locked is actually pretty stupid," she started to explain. "To understand it better, you have to know that prior to getting cursed two weeks ago I didn't remember ever seeing a woman as such. I don't even remember my own mother. She died when I was very young. As such, I have only been raised by male tutors. There are servants in the Musk Citadel but with how thick their clothes are they could as well be male for all I knew."

"That's unusual," commented Jotaro.

"And it was my downfall," added Herb. "My father told me that I would meet a girl for marriage and counselled me to get accustomed to girls. As such he gave me a monkey and instructions. I was to put the monkey in the Nyannichuan and use this on its cursed form."

Herb presented an ornate ladle to Jotaro. Jotaro could feel that it was magical.

"This is what locks curses?" she asked rhetorically.

"Yes," answered Herb. "It is called the Chisuiton or Pot of Preservation. The water put inside it gets magical properties that allow it to lock curses. It remains magical even after being taken out of the ladle and until it evaporates. I put the monkey into the spring of the drowned girl and, as my father instructed, I doused it with this water after that. I then had a girl I could use to get accustomed to girls."

"Why lock up her curse?" asked Jotaro. "You could have gotten accustomed to it without locking her curse and by avoiding hot water."

"In retrospect, I should have done that," admitted Herb. "But my father gave me the Chisuiton and told me that it was ritualistic to use it in that fashion and I did so. I used the Chisuiton on the transformed monkey. I hadn't counted on the fact that it would be naked, or on the fact that it would have such big breasts. They... erm... distracted me, allowing the monkey-turned-girl to push me into the spring and, when I got out, to splash me with the Chisuiton. I have been locked in this form since then."

To her credit, Jotaro didn't laugh, although the situation seemed pretty stupid to her. She wanted to but something prevented her. Something terrible and that she had already seen. She had a sinking feeling about this situation that would have to be checked. She had questions for Mint and Lime. Something was fishy.

"I actually got desensitized to breasts and females," added Herb. "I had to since I now have breasts and am female. The map to Mount Horai I asked from you leads to an artefact called the Kaisuiton, or Kettle of Liberation. It frees someone from the effect of the Chisuiton. Should I use it, it would allow me to be able to turn back in my male form. It wouldn't free me from the Jusenkyo curse but it would give me back my legitimacy among my people. I need to get to Mount Horai to find it and it is only mentioned on one map, the map I have come to ask."

Jotaro eyed her in the eyes and took a sheet of paper from Doorspace. She put it on the table of the study and beckoned Herb to it.

"This is the map," she said. "It indeed reveals Mount Horai. But I don't see any indication as to the localisation of the Kaisuiton. How will you find it? It could take you years."

"Don't worry," replied Herb. "As soon as I find Mount Horai, I should be able to find the Kaisuiton. The Chisuiton reacts to its presence once it is close enough from it. I just have to take this map to go there."

Herb was ready to take the map but Jotaro stopped her.

"I never said I would give this map to you," she said bluntly.

Herb looked at her as if she had been betrayed.

"I thought you would help me!" she screamed at Jotaro.

"I never said I wouldn't," replied Jotaro calmly. "I just said I wouldn't give you this map. Which means that if you are to go to Mount Horai, I'll have to guide you."

Herb's anger literally vanished before being replaced by curiosity.

"You want to come with us?" she asked curiously. "Why?"

"Several reasons," replied Jotaro. "First, I'd really like to keep that map. I'm pretty sure that you would bring it back but I don't trust Khu Lon not to attack you if she finds you. Second, I'd like to recover samples of water from the Chisuiton and the Kaisuiton so as to be in position to lock my curse and unlock it if need be."

"Why would you want to lock your curse?" wondered Herb aloud.

"If I want children, I might have to become pregnant, depending on my partner," replied Jotaro. "In which case, I might have to lock my curse so as to deliver a baby without the embryo being flushed out when I revert to my male form."

Herb's mind reeled with what Jotaro had said. She finally grasped what he was saying.

"You're saying that if you want children, you might need to remain a woman for them to be born?" she asked unsure. Jotaro eyed her intently for a few seconds.

"You don't actually know how children are born and what is implied, don't you?" she asked rhetorically.

"I don't," confirmed Herb shamefully. "My father never saw me fit to learn it."

"Your father is an idiot," replied Jotaro frankly. "You should have learnt it as soon as you became pubescent. That's the third reason why I want to come with you. You have gaping holes in your education and you could stand to learn a few things. Not that you are ignorant, mind you. From what I gathered, you are extremely knowledgeable in several subjects. There are just things you don't know that you should."

Herb didn't get angry, if only because she knew that Jotaro was right. She nodded. She was actually anticipating learning from Jotaro. She sounded knowledgeable enough. And skilled in battle. She couldn't wait to fight her.

"What that the last reason?" she asked.

"No, there is a last one," answered Jotaro. "A rather egoistical one."

"Which is?" asked Herb with a slight frown.

"Because I want to," replied Jotaro bluntly. This actually surprised Herb. She hadn't expected that.

"What?" she asked stupidly.

"You are an interesting person, Herb," explained Jotaro. "You come from a civilisation believed extinct and you have a mythical entity among your ancestors. You are well taught in several fields and are royalty. I might not exactly be fond of monarchy but there is something fascinating about rulers of such societies. Besides, you're powerful. Extremely so. I would like to test my skill against you. Your servants sound interesting too."

Herb nodded. They were extremely perverted, that was obvious. But they were also extremely loyal and skilled in combat. Jotaro seemed to be made for battle. No doubt she would want to fight them too.

"So you are willing to help me?" she asked Jotaro.

"Depends," replied Jotaro. "How much time do you have?"

"As long as necessary," replied Herb. "I told our King, my grandfather, that I had to go on a quest to better myself. He gave me his blessing and told me to take as long as I needed."

"Good," replied Jotaro. "We will make several detours while going to Mount Horai. It will give me the time to teach you and train you a little. And I might learn a thing or two from you."

Herb looked pensive.

"I have nothing against it, but I want to become male as soon as possible," she objected.

"Which is a mistake," countered Jotaro.

"What?" replied Herb dumbly.

"You consider your curse only as that, a curse," responded Jotaro. "Probably because of the political problems it causes you. Now that you are away from your kingdom, you should learn about its benefits. You'll learn more about women that way than you could have in your entire life as a male, which will make understanding your future wife better. You get to interact with men in an entirely different way. Too many of them become relaxed in the presence of a beautiful woman so it would be stupid not to take advantage of that. More importantly for you, you get combat advantages. Sure your reach and physical power are decreased but your speed is increased drastically, your pain threshold is higher, as well as your stamina and you can use parts of you ki that you couldn't in male form. In short, you have much to learn from this body and this trip to Mount Horai is the perfect opportunity since you can't do anything else."

Herb understood the reasoning and found it sound. Jotaro was right. She had been so focused on the problems her new form brought to her that she hadn't even noticed its advantages. She nodded wordlessly to Jotaro to signify that she approved of her suggestion.

"When can we leave?" she asked.

"In a few minutes," replied Jotaro. "I have all that I need on me. I just have to give some instructions to my friends."

"All you need on you?" wondered Herb. "You are proficient in the Hidden Weapon technique?"

"I am but I generally use something different to carry my things," replied Jotaro. "It's not something you can learn, sorry."

Herb dismissed this worry of Jotaro. She didn't need her technique since she knew Hidden Weapon. She donned her cloak and hid herself carefully in it. She still didn't want her companions to know about her curse. She wondered why they hadn't asked questions when she had told them that she was tracking the Kaisuiton. Oh well. Jotaro splashed herself with hot water and became male once again. He then beckoned Herb out of the study. She followed Jotaro down to the restaurant.

"I will help Herb in his quest," he said without preamble to the assembly. "I will be gone for an unknown amount of time."

"What about school?" asked Akane. Jotaro produced a sheet of paper, dated it and signed it before giving it to Akane.

"Give this to the vice-principal," he told her. "This allows me to skip school for any amount of time I see fit. I'll just have to take exams after I go back but I don't have to worry about attendance. I arranged it with him. Didn't think I would need it this soon."

Akane nodded and folded the paper. Jotaro turned to Mousse.

"I have done most of the necessary papers for two months, even though I shouldn't be gone that long. Besides you know how to fill them," he told him. "Just be cautious of Khu Lon. I will distract her before I go but keep your eyes opened and don't fall for her tricks. Be careful of Xian-Pu too. Khu Lon is used to using her. Which brings me to you, Happosai."

Happosai straightened and listened attentively. Jotaro gave him a key and a thick manual.

"This key opens my lab at Mikoto's house and the manual is for using the computer and its spying features. I need you to keep track on Khu Lon and this will help you anticipate her moves. I also need you to tell Mikoto where I am."

Happosai nodded and took the key and the manual. As he did that, he caught Jotaro's attention with a flare of ki and slipped a piece of paper to him. Jotaro took it and hid it in Doorspace. Nobody save for Happosai noticed it. Jotaro finally turned to Taro.

"Do you feel up to training someone?" he asked Taro.

"Depending on their level, I think so," answered Taro. "Why?"

"You are the further along except from me and Happosai in Xiao-lee and hyposthenia," replied Jotaro. "I'm training a young lonely girl in defensive arts to help her defend herself against bullies. She has a strange ability that allows her to heal people and is picked by other children and teenagers because of that."

"Useless jealous twits," commented Taro with his usual bluntness.

"Indeed," added Jotaro. "While training her, I noticed that she had unnatural talent in mitigation, redirection and maybe even hyposthenia. Since she isn't likely to ever be strong, these arts are perfect for her. Here is her picture."

Jotaro gave Hotaru's picture to Taro whose eyebrows rose up.

"She's young!" he exclaimed. "Eight years old at most."

"Nine, in fact," replied Jotaro. "She is called Hotaru Tomoe and usually waits for me in Juuban Park. I was to meet her this afternoon. If you could also go to these addresses and tell Motoki Furuhata and Michiru Kaioh that I'm away. I would be grateful too. Hotaru knows them and can lead you."

Taro took the slip of paper and the photos and nodded. It was in Juuban after all.

"Well, that is all," said Jotaro. He then made a sign to Herb, Mint and Lime. "Let's go. We have an Amazon Elder to terrorise."

Herb nodded and followed, as did Mint and Lime. Once they were out, Taro stretched.

"Well, I have a pupil to take care of," he said as he rose up. "See you this evening."

He was off too. Akane followed him. She had to give Jotaro's letter to the vice-principal. Mousse and Happosai went to Jotaro's lab. They wanted to know what Jotaro had in store for Cologne.

* * *

Cologne was cackling madly to herself. If she was right, then the upstart Musk and Jotaro were battling one another. Whoever was the winner, she won something. If Jotaro was vanquished, she could take back her scrolls and artefacts and subdue him to bring it into the tribe as Shampoo's husband. If Herb was vanquished, she could go back to her tribe with the news that the heir of the Musk had been slain thanks to her and would surely be able to lift the exile on her and Shampoo. There was also the possibility that they killed each other, in which case she would be covered with honours. Shampoo would lack a husband but there were fine young men out there. She cackled some more, scaring Shampoo who thought that she had gone senile.

Unfortunately for her, Cologne was far from right.

The restaurant's door exploded inward, propelled by two feet that belonged to two different persons. Cologne's eyes widened when she saw that these two people were Jotaro and Herb. She sweated. She hadn't anticipated that they would ally themselves. This was bad. To have allied themselves, they must have noticed that she tried to manipulate them. This was extremely bad.

"Xian-Pu, if you don't want me to put my threat in action for real, _get the fuck out of here_," said Jotaro venomously.

Shampoo didn't need to be told twice. She bolted out of the restaurant, nearly hitting Lime in the process. She still had a terrible fear of Jotaro's threat since she knew it wasn't empty. Jotaro's rather extreme threats did that to a young woman.

"Now that we are alone, what should we do, old woman?" said Herb in a singsong voice.

She then moved extremely fast. Cologne tried to avoid the attack but she wasn't fast enough.

"Ryu Sei Hisho!" shouted Herb.

Only Jotaro saw and fully understood what had happened. After Herb had dashed after Cologne, she had propelled her ki on the ground in one blast and had become airborne. She had then dashed at inhuman speed at Cologne, directing herself by propelling her ki and had dived on her. She had then sent ki on the ground under Cologne. It had produced a blast that had sent a surprised Cologne into her path. Cologne had tried the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken against Herb but it had been for naught. Herb had indeed trained in an exercise similar to the Bakusai Tenketsu. Cologne's attack still hurt her but it didn't stop her. A ki-enhanced punch made its way past Cologne's defence and cracked eight of her ribs, making her lose her breath and cough blood since one of her lungs had been bruised. She was still not out of commission and as Herb landed she readied herself for a lethal blow to the Musk bastard.

KA-BLAM!

She never got the opportunity as her left femur shattered midway, courtesy of a bullet from Jotaro's Desert Eagle. Cologne fell on the ground, howling and bleeding profusely. She immediately stopped the flow of her blood in her leg with a few pressure points. She would still have to go to a hospital to get healed or she would lose the leg. As it was, it would take months before she could stand up on it again and she would probably never get all of her mobility back. Her days as a martial arts master were probably over.

"You'll never learn, Old Ghoul," said Jotaro idly as he put back the gun back to Doorspace. "I thought I would have beaten treachery out of you. Guess I was mistaken. You shouldn't attack my friend from behind. He was nice enough to face you head on."

Cologne groaned on the floor.

"How did you destroy her leg?" asked Herb with wonder.

"You don't seem to know about firearms," noted Jotaro. "I'll have to teach you about that. They are dangerous even to you. Let's get out of this place."

Herb nodded and followed. Before they went out, Jotaro threw a vial of liquid in the restaurant and it broke near Cologne. A pungent smell started to rise from it, it made Mint's eyes widen.

"What was that vial?" asked Lime as they went away. "It stank!"

"It's an aphrodisiac for dogs," replied Mint who had recognized the smell. "Every male dog that senses it will want to find its source and mate with whatever is found here, that is to say the Amazon Elder, most likely."

Herb's eyes widened, as did Lime's.

"You're cruel!" she said to Jotaro.

"I can be," he agreed. "Had she done to you half of the things she did to me, you would have killed her on the spot. I just believe that it is better revenge to make one's enemies wish they were dead by making their lives a living hell."

"Remind me to never piss you off," said Lime with utmost seriousness.

"Agreed," added Mint. Herb was a bit confused. What had the old woman to fear from the dogs? Maybe they would eat her?

Meanwhile, Shampoo had heard their conversation. She felt sorry for her great-grandmother but she wouldn't help her. She was scared witless of horny dogs. Whether it was because of Jotaro's threat or because of her cat curse, she wasn't sure. Probably both.

* * *

Cologne cursed Jotaro one more time. She then fell silent before insulting his sexual prowess and dubious parentage. She felt better now. She just had to wait until Shampoo came back to help her. She would have to go to the hospital within the day if she wanted to keep her leg and not have it amputated. She could have gone there herself but she was in a lot of pain. She suddenly heard a noise she didn't like. It was a bark. She became worried when she heard several more barks, different ones too.

Several dozens of dogs entered the restaurant. They looked around before their eyes rested on her. Cologne knew this look. They were in heat.

The string of vulgarities that escaped her mouth was heard blocks away from the Nekohanten. Later, Nerima's hospital would tend to a diminutive old woman with a mangled leg and broken ribs. She would be healed but had been warned that she would never regain her full mobility. What had gotten the crew talking was that she had arrived out of breath and covered with a sticky smelly white substance that she had refused to explain. After she had nearly strangled the nurse who had asked the question, the crew knew better than to ask.

* * *

As Taro entered Juuban's park, he noticed a commotion in the part where Hotaru Tomoe was supposed to be. He dashed to it and was treated to a scene that made him stop.

Hotaru Tomoe was in the middle of nearly a dozen stunned teenagers. She had a busted lip and was out of breath but was otherwise all right. A dozen other teenagers were still standing cautiously around her, although two of them were cradling something. The girl looked determined enough. Taro deduced that these goons had attacked her and that she had defended herself. He was impressed. She was obviously good. He noticed that two of the goons dashed at her from opposing sides. That was a mistake. She grabbed on hand from both and tripped them, making them fall and hit their heads together. They were out cold. However, she was too out of breath and fell on her knees to get it back. One of the thugs capitalized on it and tried to hit her.

His punch was intercepted by a hand that gripped his wrist strongly. He snarled and tried to get away but his hand wouldn't budge. He looked at the owner of the other hand and just stared. He was tall, obviously Chinese and extremely muscular. The thug kicked him but only managed to hurt his foot. The tall Chinese stranger looked like he hadn't even felt it. He was smiling at the freak.

"You're Hotaru Tomoe?" He said cheerfully. "Jotaro told me about you. He won't be able to come for some time so he asked me to train you."

"You know of Jotaro?" asked the girl with a smile. "I am indeed Hotaru Tomoe. Nice to meet you."

"Let me alone, you gaijin bastard!" screamed the thug Taro was holding. "And leave the freak to us."

Taro stopped smiling and turned to the thug, letting part of his non-negligible aura to appear, making him look demonic. The thug forgot his protests and whimpered in fear.

"You call her a freak just because she can heal people, THAT'S IT?" roared Taro. "You're just a jealous little cowardly twit. Attacking a little girl with two dozens of goons. You're pathetic."

"Why do you care," screamed the thug in fear. "You are a friend of the freak! You're also a freak!"

"I am her friend," said Taro in a calm manner before becoming threatening. "But I am worse than a freak. I'm a genuine MONSTER!"

And with that, Taro took a canteen of cold water, god rid of his clothes too fast for the human eye to follow and drenched himself. He was instantly replaced by a five metres tall winged and tentacled Minotaur. The Minotaur roared in the face of the thug it was holding. Said thug fainted in fear, a suspicious wet spot appearing in front of his pants. The remaining conscious thugs got extremely scared and tried to flee but Taro caught them and sent them into the nearby pond one after the other. The pond was actually about a hundred metres away from them but it didn't bother Taro. It did bother the thugs, though. The landing, even in water, was quite painful. After that, Taro took a canteen of hot water and splashed his monstrous form. He became human once again and put back his clothes so fast that Hotaru never saw him naked.

"Sorry about such a casual display of violence," he said cheerily. "But they deserved it. Looks like this one pissed himself in fright."

"It's okay," replied Hotaru with a smile. "I wanted to do that."

She then noticed that one of the thugs was coming back to his senses and immediately stepped on his crotch. The thug's eyes opened wide and he howled silently under the pain before clutching his groin in pain.

"On behalf of all the males," said Taro with a grimace, "I have to say that it was a bit too much."

"He was telling the others to rape me," protested Hotaru. Taro gaped before turning to the thug.

"But there are exceptions to the rules of male punishment," added Taro in a tragic tone. "Let's make sure he remembers the lesson."

And he kicked the thug in the crotch. The thug's eyes rolled and he fainted.

"That should teach him," said Taro before smiling evilly at Hotaru. "What about getting revenge on them?"

"I don't like hurting people all that much," said Hotaru although Taro could tell she was itching for it. He got a couple of paintbrushes and some indelible ink.

"Come on," he pleaded. "It won't even hurt them. Just humiliate them."

Hotaru got a grin that would have made Jotaro proud.

A few hours later, several thugs were going back home wondering how they would explain this to their parents. It had been difficult enough to go out of the park with the scribbling on their faces. People had laughed at them or belittled them. Having the kanji for "Rapist", "Limp Dick" and "Bed Wetter" on your face in indelible ink on your face didn't do wonders for one's reputation. And their parents would want a reasonable explanation as to why they had them.

Meanwhile, Taro was following Hotaru out of the Crown arcade. After training Hotaru for two hours, Taro had asked for help to find Jotaro's friend. They had already warned Motoki and Reika about Jotaro's absence. Taro had instantly liked the guy and his girlfriend. They were extremely nice. They were now going to Haruka's flat, Taro chatting happily with Hotaru about his training with Happosai. It interested Hotaru since she would be having parts of said training from Jotaro and Taro.

Taro rung the bell and waited with Hotaru. Soon, two people came to answer. Taro recognized one as Michiru. The other was probably a friend.

"Who are you?" asked the blonde.

"Taro Noriaki," replied Taro. "And this is Hotaru Tomoe, one of Jotaro Kujo's pupils."

"Jotaro's pupil?" said Michiru. "Wait, you wouldn't be the guy with a really strange curse?"

"That probably is me," replied Taro. "I turn into a mix between Yeti, bull, crane, eel and octopus."

"I knew I had heard the name," said Michiru. "Jotaro talked about you. Where is he, by the way?"

"That's why I came to talk to you about," replied Taro. "He went to a quest to help a friend of his so we won't see him for some time, maybe a month or two. He asked me to warn you since he left in a hurry."

"I see," said Michiru, glad at the attention.

"Why don't you come inside?" said Haruka. "We have much to discuss about."

Taro nodded and ushered Hotaru before him. They ended up talking until night fell, at which point Taro brought Hotaru back to her house by flying in his cursed form. Hotaru was thrilled by the experience.

* * *

A.N: Finally got around to publishing this chapter. To think I thought that I would have more time to write during the holidays... Then again, I bought a PS3 and a dozen games on impulse, it probably explains that.

I finally got around introducing my favourite character in the Ranma series. And it only took me two hundred thousand words to do so! The next three chapters will also cover this part. Hopefully, I'll release them with a lesser delay than this one but Bioshock 2 is calling for me and I have only finished four of my new games (and I intend to play the harder modes, then again, Uncharted isn't that long. However, Bayonetta is already hard in Normal, so I might suffer in Hard). Plus I started this Ranma/Valkyrie Profile crossover and it is distracting me from this story. I already have the end planned but it could still take a while, although I hope to finish it in a year.


	24. While Your Lips Are Still Red

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

WARNING: Lemon ahead, a straight one only for once. Read at your own risk. That said, it's been a while since I last wrote one in this story.

XXIII) While Your Lips Are Still Red

"We are going to be sleeping there?" asked Mint in disbelief.

Herb's eyes, which were the only parts of her being seen, and Mint's face mirrored the sentiment. Jotaro had taken them to a five star palace, the most expensive one in Tokyo.

"I know that I am royalty," commented Herb, "but I am used to roughing it up a bit. I have slept on bedrocks under the stars before and I can do it again."

"This is way too much for us," added Lime. "We can pay for it, but..."

"You won't have too," replied Jotaro simply. "The chief manager owns me a favour for saving his wife from rape and prostitution. We'll get a room for free."

"If you say so," said Mint dubiously.

Jotaro entered the palace as if he owned the place, followed by a rather nervous Musk trio. He went straight to the desk, totally ignoring the contemptuous gazes that other patrons sent to them. They obviously considered him lower than them given his attire and couldn't wait for the group to be thrown out. Jotaro got to the counter and spoke to the attendant.

"Could I speak to manager Jin Kobayashi?" he asked without preamble. The clerk eyed him dubiously.

"And you are?" he asked with disdain.

"Jotaro Kujo," replied Jotaro. "If you don't ask him, you might regret it."

The attendant sighed and went to the study of the chief manager while making a discreet sign to the guards who started to approach the group. As soon as he had told the manager that a certain Jotaro Kujo was here the man bolted out of his study with a full blown smile. It wasn't the commercial smile he reserved for his usual customers. No, it was an honest to God genuine smile.

"Jotaro!" he exclaimed happily. "It's good to finally see you here. I was wondering whether or not you would take me on my offer."

"Well, Ryuuji has been pestering me about it," replied Jotaro, "but I never found a good opportunity to come here. It feels useless going alone to a palace."

The guards stopped their advance and the attendant's mouth dropped. This guy was friends with the chief manager? This surprised them. The other patrons looked at the group with interest. Who could they be?

"You could have brought the lovely Michiru," objected Jin.

"Can't," replied Jotaro. "We are not lovers anymore. We're still friends, mind you. She has found a cute lover that her father can make sweat a bit. I'm sure he enjoys it. I dare say that he was frustrated that he couldn't intimidate me."

"That's for sure," agreed Jin with a laugh. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Herb, prince of the Jako dynasty and his two retainers, Mint and Lime," said Jotaro while presenting the awestruck group before adding in a whisper: "Since Herb is here incognito, he would prefer if nobody knew who he was."

"I see," replied Jin in kind before adding in a loud voice. "Well, we will get you a suite. Hayashi, find a suite for these gentlemen."

The attendant, still shocked by what he had seen, looked at the register.

"Hum, Sir, only the suite seventy-seven is available," he said nervously.

"Then give them the suite seventy-seven," replied Jin as if it was the most natural thing possible.

"But Sir," interrupted the attendant. "This suite is our largest and most expensive one..."

"Didn't you hear me, Hayashi?" said Jin in a harsh tone. "I said: give them the suite seventy-seven."

"Hum, right," sweated the attendant. "I will need an account number..."

"No need to," interrupted Jin. "This one is one the house."

The attendant was aghast. The other patrons were too, as well as incredibly jealous. Who were these guys to deserve the best suite of the palace freely? Even the Emperor paid his stay here (well his staff paid it for him, it would be a breach of protocol for the emperor to actually carry money).

"Did you not hear me, Hayashi?" frowned Jin. "Give me the keys to the suite."

Hayashi jumped before executing himself.

"The owner won't be happy about it," he mumbled. Unfortunately for him, Jotaro heard him.

"The owner, who goes by the name Ryuuji Kaioh, will be plenty happy about it," he snorted. "He was the one who insisted I came here."

"We will have words about your behaviour, Hayashi," said Jin while frowning.

Hayashi cursed. This would not end well for him.

As soon as Jin got the key, he gestured to Jotaro and his group to follow him, asking politely if they had any luggage. When Jotaro replied by the negative, he laughed gaily before adding that he should have known. The other patrons wondered who these guys, who knew the manager of the palace as well as its owner, were.

Jin guided them to the elevator before showing them their suite, which took a whole floor. The suite was indeed vast. And luxurious. It was very tastefully decorated with a Victorian feeling and was full of crystal, looking glasses and tapestries. It consisted in a vast living room, several wide bedrooms with their own bathrooms and a few additional rooms, including a fitness room and even a swimming pool. Herb and his retainers were aghast as such opulence. Jotaro was too but didn't show it. After he had showed them the whole suite, Jin exited, giving them his private number in case they needed anything. What interested Jotaro was the fact that the bedrooms were soundproof. He would make use of it extremely soon. As soon as Jin had gotten away, Herb turned to Jotaro.

"I didn't expect to ever be able to sleep in a palace," she said firmly. "For that alone, you have my gratitude."

"I don't exactly deserve it since I don't pay for it," replied Jotaro. "But Jin was pestering me, as well as Ryuuji and you constituted a good opportunity to come there."

"You could have brought someone else," objected Lime. "Someone you love for example."

"True, but I wanted to use this free pass as soon as possible," replied Jotaro. "It's not nice not to cash in debts, it makes the people who owe you uncomfortable. Since I like both Jin and Ryuuji, I decided to get rid of this debt between us. It will make them my equals again. I prefer that."

Herb nodded, she understood the reasoning and respected Jotaro for it. She also felt pleased that he was willing to offer this to her. Her heartbeat accelerated as she thought about that but she didn't understand why. Maybe she'd ask Jotaro. He seemed well versed in human psychology and physiology. Granted, she was part dragon, but it should be similar enough.

"Now that we are here," said Jotaro, "let's plan our trip."

He took a map of Japan and put it on the table. They discussed plans for the better part of the afternoon. When it was time to eat, Herb decline, arguing to her retainers that she was feeling a bit unnerved by the gazes of the other patrons and that she had to play the part of the incognito prince for the manager. The retainers accepted the explanation without a fuss but Jotaro knew better. He just didn't tell anything. He told Mint and Lime that he would accompany them to the palace's restaurant. Their initial reticence was swept away as soon as he told them that they might see 'boobies' there, much to Herb's chagrin. Jotaro then gave them tuxedos ()at that point they knew better than asking where he had gotten them from) to put on for the restaurant and told them to go take a bath. They accepted enthusiastically and went to their respective rooms. Herb said she wanted to relax a little in her room and take a bath too. This left Jotaro alone in the living room. This left Jotaro alone. He took out Happosai's letter and read it. After he finished he blinked. He then read the letter again and blinked a second time. It explained several things he had noticed and others that Akane had told but it raised new questions. He decided to consult Herb. It concerned her after all. He went to her room and knocked.

"Who is it?" asked a masculine voice.

"It's Jotaro," replied Jotaro. "Can I come? I need to talk to you about something."

There was a silence for a few seconds before a feminine voice replied: "Come in."

Jotaro opened the door and closed it behind him. She had taken off her cloak and her armoured plates, leaving her in her white and red clothing. She didn't look any less regal in Jotaro's eyes. If anything, she would look even more regal in a queen's gown. She would look so hot in it too...

Jotaro mentally slapped himself and focused on his current problem. Or rather Herb's current problem.

"There is something strange going on," he said. "Happosai knew that you were female and he learned something from your retainers."

"What is it?" asked Herb worried. What had the idiots done now? Jotaro handed her a letter.

"Read for yourself," he said. Herb took the letter and read.

_Jotaro_

_Sorry for the bad handwriting but it's not actual handwriting. It's not that easy wto write with your feet, let me tell you. I'm writing this secretly from all the others, Mint and Lime included._

_There is something strange going on. I noticed (as you did, I hope) that Prince Herb was female. I suspect a Jusenkyo curse. What is strange is that when I told the others, Mint and Lime weren't surprised._

_They were upset she had been found out. Which means that they knew she is female. They begged us not to tell anything to her and we accepted but I think you should know. It seems that Herb doesn't know that they know._

_When we asked them why, they responded that they hadn't found any other way to protect their prince. I am sure that they weren't lying but this bears investigation. There is someone after Herb from what I understand, even if that someone isn't in Japan from what I gathered. It kind of explains their habit of faking lechery in presence of their prince. They probably want him to be wary of men in his cursed form. He is more fragile than he can afford to let on._

_Other than that, have a nice trip. I trust you to teach him what he needs to know, you can probably get him out of his regal shell, you have a knack for that. See you later._

_Happosai_

Herb's eyes had widened more and more as she read the letter. She let it fall from her hand.

"They… they know?" she whispered with a dismayed face.

"It seems so," replied Jotaro. "It explains their attitude. It is extremely subtle but I could tell that they were treating you carefully. And Akane told me that they faked their perversion."

"But... Why wouldn't they tell me that they know?" wondered Herb visibly upset.

"They wanted to protect you, from what Happosai said," placated Jotaro. "However, there are few people who could pose an actual threat to you. Thus my guess is, they want to protect you from yourself."

"From myself?" asked Herb startled.

"Think about it," replied Jotaro. "There is someone after you from what Happosai believes. Being turned into a girl without the possibility to change back has already been a blow to your ego. It would have been another one for it if you knew that they knew and you might have done something stupid, such as getting away from them despite the fact that there is someone after you."

Herb mulled other this and after some thinking decided that Jotaro was mostly right. At least her rational mind did. Her more instinctual mind was still upset.

"But why didn't they tell me that someone was after me?" she almost wailed.

Jotaro actually wondered about that part. The only sensible idea that he had was one he didn't like. Not one bit.

However, Herb needed to know. Should Jotaro be right, she actually was in danger.

"Maybe they thought you couldn't be protected from him and that you had to get away for some time until you could become stronger," suggested Jotaro. "If they took you away, then they couldn't get rid of him himself, either because he is stronger than them or because they couldn't get away with it and that it could put you in danger. They want you to become strong enough. Have you noticed how they pushed for more training? When I mentioned some of the places I wanted to visit on the way they were the first to agree."

Herb pondered that. What Jotaro asked made sense. Still she couldn't help but wonder...

"Why didn't they tell me anything, though?" she asked aloud.

"That's what I'm wondering about," admitted Jotaro. "It doesn't make sense. I'm going to blackmail them at dinner with telling you the truth and see what I can get from them."

"I already know the truth," said Herb before understanding. "But they don't know that. I wish I could be here to hear it from them without them knowing."

"It can be done," replied Jotaro, getting a quizzical gaze from Herb.

He took a mike and a loudspeaker from Doorspace and hid the mike on the collar of his trenchcoat. He then tinkered with the loudspeaker and tested it. Once he was satisfied he showed it to a curious Herb.

"This will allow you to hear me and your retainers when we are at dinner. I'll just bullshit them saying that you feel the need to ponder things in your room and will ask for room service if you are hungry," detailed Jotaro.

"This could work," admitted Herb before her curiousness got the better of her. "Are you going to the restaurant in this outfit? They won't let you go in."

"They totally will," retorted Jotaro. "That's how much pull I have here. Besides, I make this look good."

He grabbed the edge of his trenchcoat to emphasize his point.

"That's true," admitted Herb. "I both forms too."

"Er... thanks," replied Jotaro, trying not to appear embarrassed (he was one of the few people in the world who could actually hide his embarrassment at will, something that unsettled many people who didn't know him that well). "I'll be going now."

He went out of the room. Herb blushed as she wondered what on earth had possessed her to say that. It might have been because Jotaro was her first friend. She trusted Mint and Lime with her life but they treated her like a prince, that is to say with some deference. Jotaro didn't do that and it was refreshing.

As Jotaro went in the living room he noticed that Mint and Lime were ready. He made a sign to them and activated the mike.

"Ready to eat, boys?" he asked.

"Where is Herb?" asked Lime. "Does he still want to eat here?"

"I asked him and he said that he had much to ponder about," lied Jotaro casually. "He will ask for room service if he is hungry."

"Okay," replied Mint. "Let's go to see the boobies!"

"If you ask so bluntly they will throw you out," replied Jotaro warningly.

"Oh, right," sighed Mint. "Can I still watch them?"

"If you're discreet about it," replied Jotaro with a barely noticeable smirk. "Let's go."

They went down to the restaurant. The other patrons seemed scandalized by Jotaro's attire but Jotaro didn't care. They were led to a private booth where they ordered their plates. As they ate Jotaro decided to strike.

"You don't seem too upset by the lack of breasts," commented Jotaro idly.

"You're right!" exclaimed Lime in a false cheer. "Where are the boobies?"

"Cut the bullshit," demanded Jotaro firmly. "We all know that you are not the idiots you are pretending to be. Akane told me you were faking perverseness."

Mint and Lime became alarmed. They had reason to be. Jotaro knew more than he should.

"I knew that you weren't complete idiots but it was Happosai who discovered the most about you."

Jotaro gave them the letter. They read it silently, becoming grimmer and grimmer as they went on.

"He is totally right," sighed Mint sombrely.

"I know he is," replied Jotaro. "Happosai may act like a dumb pervert but he had three hundred years to perfect his observation and deduction skills. What I would like to know is why the masquerade."

Lime sighed.

"Does Herb know about this?" he asked.

"No," lied Jotaro smoothly. "She has been sheltered for most of his life and doesn't know how to read people."

"He," corrected Mint.

"She," insisted Jotaro. "At least for the time being. What do you need to protect her from?"

"An enemy he can't vanquish," sighed Lime.

"Because she isn't strong enough?" ventured Jotaro, wondering how it would take them to refer to Herb by her current gender.

"As if," said Mint bitterly. "More than half of our army can take him on and win. Herb could do it blindfolded and bound. But he can't because of who this enemy is."

"Still, why haven't you told her?" asked Jotaro.

"How could we tell him that his enemy, the one who wants him dead more than everything is his own father?" snapped Mint.

Jotaro remained still for a few seconds. This was bad. He had had a bad feeling about Herb's father from what he had learned about him but it seemed worse than what he had expected. He had expected a greedy lazy ass of Genma's calibre, not someone who would gladly kill his son for his own profit.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you know about Herb's father?" asked Lime with a sigh.

"Not much," replied Jotaro. "Just that from what I heard from Herb, I pegged him for a major idiot. A nefarious one but still an idiot. But if he wants Herb out of his way, his actions become sinisterly intelligent. What can you tell me about him?"

"Herb's father, Ginger, is the son of Cinnamon, Herb's grandfather and the current ruling king," explained Lime. "King Cinnamon is believed to be the strongest Musk King since ten thousand years ago. Powerful, well-learned, intelligent and, above all, kind. He genuinely cares for his people. He could have lead a war against the Amazons and won it but he thought it would have cost too much for the people. He just trained our army to defend us and it worked. We could repel any attack, even one from the communist army. Except if they used nukes, but then again, who can resist nukes?"

"So you know about modern armament," noted Jotaro. "I knew you weren't as dumb as you tried to appear."

"Thanks, I guess," replied Lime. "Anyway, compared to his father, Ginger is, shall we say, lacking. He isn't very powerful. Hell, he is renowned for having been among the weakest warriors ever. He is also not very mindful of the people. He has pressed his father for war more than I can count. He is also power-hungry and can't wait for his father to pass the throne onto him. For a king to be instated, he has to inherit the throne from his father or challenge the actual king in combat, be it his father or his uncle or grandfather, and win. Ginger could never win against his father so he has to wait until he dies to seize power. But he has an unwanted challenger."

"Who is?" asked Jotaro, despite having a rather precise idea on the matter.

"Herb himself," continued Mint. "The story behind Herb's birth isn't the glorious and romantic one he thinks about. His father was drunk and slept with a nondescript girl. She wound up in the royal chambers pregnant saying that Ginger was the father. Ginger tried to deny but three Shamans can't be all wrong at the same time and the child was identified as his. Cinnamon told him to get his head out of his ass and wed the girl. He didn't think too much of it and wed her. It seemed that it went well between them. However, she died soon after Herb's birth due to complications."

"It could have been worse," said Jotaro idly. "Ginger could have assassinated her."

Seeing Mint and Lime sombre looks, Jotaro knew that he had opened another can of worms. Worse, Herb was still listening. Still, Jotaro believed that she had to know. It was for her safety, even if it would hurt her.

"Mint?" he asked carefully.

"It has never been proven," resumed Mint. "And it cannot be now, unless the assassin reveals himself and tells that he worked on Gingers order. But I remember, when I was twelve and assisted to the burial. Ginger didn't cry for his wife. He didn't even look sad. With what we now know, we can't rule out that he had a hand in her demise."

Jotaro remained silent. What had been planned as a straightforward interrogation had become a tragedy worthy of Hamlet. And it wasn't finished.

"The thing about Herb," continued Lime, "is that he is powerful. Extremely so. Our king told it himself, Herb had more power as a baby than he himself had when he was ten. And a Dragon Heir's power grows with age. Herb is most likely more powerful than our king now. However, power isn't everything. Ginger knew this and decided to make Herb an unfit ruler. He sabotaged his education. He was very subtle at it. Herb is a Master in several fields but sorely lacking in others. I mean, what use is there to Lebesgue theorem?"

"There are several uses," replied Jotaro. "In the mathematical field at least."

"True but it doesn't help you to rule people," objected Lime. "Herb is skilled in combat but has no knowledge in battle tactics. He knows extremely challenging maths but has no notion of economics. He was never told how to rule people and has next to no diplomatic skills. He knows two dozen languages perfectly but knows nothing of the outside world save from the valley of Jusenkyo. We only discovered it recently. He was wondering why he had to learn so many languages if nobody spoke them. We wondered why he would think that and searched for his tutors. When we spoke to them, we noticed how his education had been sabotaged. His father was in charge of it. We were only appointed as his combat instructors a few months ago by our king who was becoming curious about Herb's upbringing since he had no feedback about it. Ginger was in charge of it and he voluntarily botched it. Most importantly, we realised that Herb didn't even know most our laws. It never occurred to him that he could challenge the ruling king to become king. And he didn't know that by using Jusenkyo waters on an innocent animal, he would get in serious problems."

"Problems?" asked Jotaro. "Which problems?"

"Death," replied Mint hollowly. "He would only face prison and be disowned if he used the Jusenkyo waters alone but he used the Chisuiton. This means his death, and as if it wasn't enough, the fact that he is a woman permanently now makes it impossible for the King to pardon him. There is a law that stipulates that the King cannot pardon women. Our laws are often unjust to women, although Cinnamon has been modifying them but he is encountering resistance from the nobles. They support Ginger since he promised them a lot of things they want. When we saw what Herb had done, we hid, appeared in front of him after he had hid his transformation and told him that the Kaisuiton would give him back his male form. We didn't tell him that bringing a supposedly lost royal artefact back to the Musk would grant him an automatic pardon."

Jotaro remained silent. He couldn't imagine the state Herb was in as she listened to this.

"This is bad," he said.

"Tell me about it," moaned Lime. "We still have to tell Herb about it. But I don't see how we could. He wouldn't believe it."

"That's another problem," admitted Jotaro. "But I wasn't talking about that. Do you know how Herb ended up cursed?"

"I'm pretty sure he didn't know about women, wanted to see one for himself and used Jusenkyo waters on an animal as well as the Chisuiton," sighed Mint. "Another thing his father did. He had him raised exclusively by males. I'm not sure he knows about sex either."

"She doesn't," replied Jotaro quickly. "But that's not the worst her father has done to her. Ginger told her that it was _tradition_ for young Musk to _discover_ women by _using animals_ dunked into the _Nyannichuan_. He _gave_ her the Chisuiton _and_ the monkey she used. When Herb was distracted by the monkey-turned-girl's breasts, the monkey _threw_ Herb in the Nyannichuan and then _splashed_ her with water from the Chisuiton. As if a monkey would do something that complicated by itself. It was trained to do so, there is _no_ other explanation."

Mint and Lime paled. The implications were terrible.

"Herb's father set him up to be put to _death_," whispered Lime horror-struck.

"That's the gist of it," said Jotaro sombrely. "It only failed because you acted too fast and whisked her away. She owes her life to you."

"It's horrible," added Mint. "We have to warn the King before Herb returns or he won't have the time to defend himself."

"Most importantly," interrupted Jotaro, "you have to tell Herb herself. She deserves to know, her life has been on the line for far too long."

"Yes, we will," said Lime firmly. "Tomorrow. I was trying to spare his feelings by delaying this talk but what we learnt from you is too terrible to keep from him."

"Tomorrow," added Mint. "He is probably sleeping now and we need time to sort how we will tell him this. He will be upset."

'_If only you knew_,' thought Jotaro.

They didn't speak anymore and went up soon after that. Jotaro waited till Mint and Lime had gone to their bedrooms before he went to Herb's bedroom. He didn't even knock and, as he entered the room, he noticed that he didn't need to.

Herb was sitting on the bed, her eyes vacant and her face slack. No emotion could be seen on her face, not even her usual nobility. It was perfectly blank and it scared Jotaro. Jotaro stopped and tried to steel himself for the heart-breaking sight. It reminded him of his wife's face when he had told her that he should divorce her and leave Jolyne for her own safety. Or of Jolyne's face when she had told him that she never wanted to see him ever again when he had tried to rescue her in Green Dolphin Prison. He felt powerless and this was one thing he absolutely couldn't stand.

The loudspeaker delivered nothing but ambient noise so Jotaro cut it. Herb still didn't react. He then went in front of her and looked at her. She was looking through him but Jotaro noticed at the slight twitches of her face that she was desperately holding her composure. This wouldn't do. He had done it enough to know that it was detrimental to bottle one's emotions indefinitely.

"You shouldn't keep your emotion hidden within you like that," he told her gently. "I have done it enough to know that it hurts in the long term. Let it all out, no matter how violent it is."

He then opened his arms widely. It was easy enough to understand. It was an invitation for a beating. He could probably take it.

Herb looked at him for a few seconds, as if not understanding what he had told, before it happened. Her face contorted and twisted before she opened her mouth wide, revealing animalistic elongated canines, toppled her head over and let out a primal cry.

It was the second most terrible thing Jotaro had ever heard, the first having come from his own mouth when he had realised he wouldn't be able to save his daughter when Pucci tried to kill her. Herb's cry let out years of pent up rage and all the emotional pain she felt due to what she had learnt. It wasn't easy to learn that your closest relative wanted you dead. Herb then sprung up and punched Jotaro savagely in the gut.

Jotaro had undergone the Bakusai Tenketsu. He had even activated the partial form of the Tendo Forbidden Technique which allowed him an even greater measure of protection. It still wasn't enough to block completely Herb's ki-enhanced punch. He would have a bruise after that. Not for long, two hours at most given how fast he could heal, but a bruise nonetheless.

Herb's next punches were sensibly weaker since she had spent most of her rage in the first punch. She still punched Jotaro in several places while howling incoherently. Jotaro didn't stop her, her just got closer to her until he was nearly touching her. By this time, Herb had lost most of her rage and her punches were so weak that Jotaro had deactivated the Tendo Forbidden Technique. She had tears in her eyes that didn't want to flow. Jotaro then cradled her in his arms and sat on the bed, making her sit on his knees and put her head on his torso while petting her back and head. Herb might have been taller (in her girl form) that Jotaro (in his male form), it didn't prevent her from looking tiny in his arms.

"Let it all out," he whispered to her. "You'll feel better after that."

It was too much for Herb to resist. She hit his torso weakly with her fists before letting go of the last remains of her control and cried in earnest for what most probably was the first conscious time of her life. She was literally bawling like a little child. All of her past pains resurfaced and made her cry harder. A lot of things she hadn't understood had revealed themselves to be terribly hurtful now that she had learnt what her father had done. She cried in Jotaro's arms for about two hours. Jotaro never moved. He just cradled her gently, petted her back to make her feel better and whispered encouraging words to her, prompting her to cry as long as she wanted. Herb's sobs finally subsidised and she was able to speak.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she asked aloud in a heartbroken voice.

Jotaro immediately pulled her out of the safety of his arms and held her in front of her, startling her.

"You did nothing wrong," he said in a steely angry voice that reached Herb despite her misery. "You existed and just for that your father wanted you dead, all for his personal profit. That attitude is despicable and the fault lies sorely within him. Never feel sorry for just being alive, ever. Besides, you are not alone. You have friends that would die for you. Mint and Lime would do so. I would too."

Jotaro's passion as he said this reached Herb better than anyone else could have done. For the first time of her life she felt loved and for the first time she felt unconditional trust. Jotaro had seen her at her most vulnerable and hadn't taken advantage of her. Instead he had helped her heal her emotional wounds and had comforted her. She could let down all pretence around him and not be the Musk Prince, just Herb. It was a wonderful feeling. She didn't want it to fade. She also felt a longing she didn't understand. She told so to Jotaro. He eyed her straight in the eyes and decided that it was time to throw caution to the wind. He had always trusted his instincts after all.

Even when he knew that it was a bad idea. But he had always lived with regretting things he had done rather than not doing anything at all and he wanted this trend to continue. Besides, his instinct was feeling right.

"Close your eyes," he told her. Herb did so. He wouldn't hurt her, she was sure of it.

She felt a slight pressure on her lips and opened her eyes in surprise. Jotaro was kissing her gently. He had closed his eyes as a show of his trust to her. She remained frozen for a few seconds before experiencing the unknown yet sweet feeling coming from her lips and decided to enjoy it. She closed her eyes again and kissed back, much to Jotaro's joy. His gamble had paid off. He had been a bit leery about going so fast but then again love was always somewhat risky.

Herb was now enjoying thoroughly the battle of lips. She was discovering feelings she didn't even know existed. She had waited long, all her life in fact, to feel something like that and in the end, she felt it was worth the wait and trials she had had to undergo. She opened her mouth to moan in pleasure and immediately Jotaro's tongue snaked inside her mouth, prodding everywhere and eliciting other pleasant feelings she had known nothing of. Herb remained passive, just moaning in Jotaro's mouth, for a few minutes before she realised that she should make him feel good and snaked her tongue into his mouth, retaliating to his assault with all the might she could muster. Jotaro retaliated back and their tongues battled for a rather long time. At one moment, Jotaro lied on his back, dragging Herb with him. She barely noticed but started to grind her body against his, experiencing extremely pleasurable sensations in her breasts and loins. She had wondered about the use of the breasts for females. If they produced that much pleasure she didn't understand why males didn't have some. Warmth slowly built up within all her body before an electric discharge coursed through her body before lingering in her loins. She felt muscles she didn't know she have clench and unclench at a fast pace. She couldn't remember ever feeling so much pleasure and as a consequence she gasped, releasing Jotaro's mouth in the process and opening her eyes wide, and lost her breath. She felt wetness between her legs and immediately felt ashamed that she had released herself. She wanted to apologize to Jotaro but he interrupted her with a finger on her lips.

"You just felt what probably is your first orgasm ever," he said with a smile. "Powerful, isn't it?"

"Yes," she replied, her face noticeably red. "I'm sorry I lost control of my bladder, but I never experienced that before."

"Totally wrong," countered Jotaro. "The origin of the liquid is different and its nature is different too, that's why it smells different. It smells... enticing."

Herb was startled and smelled the air. Jotaro was right. It didn't smell like urine at all. And he was right about it being enticing.

"I'll have to teach to you what it is but not tonight," he added. "You have had an emotionally exhausting day. It's time for you to rest."

Herb nodded before looking at him hesitantly.

"Can you... stay with me?" she asked shyly.

"I didn't really want to go out," replied Jotaro with a smirk.

He took of his shoes, cap and trenchcoat and went under the covers of the bed, inviting Herb to follow him. She needn't be told twice and went under the covers, snuggling close to Jotaro. She was ready to sleep but still had a few questions.

"Jotaro?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" replied Jotaro.

"I have a strange feeling within me since you kissed me," she said. "I feel wonderful, as if all my problems had gone away."

"It's probably love," replied Jotaro.

"It can't be," replied Herb to Jotaro's surprise. "I've read about love. It is said that it is a wonderful feeling. What I feel is beyond that. I feel more than wonderful and powerful. It can't be something as simple as love."

Jotaro actually laughed.

"Love is a totally subjective emotion," he said to her. "Books never describe it perfectly, you have to experience it to know what it is. If you feel good with someone and want to remain at that someone's side forever, if you want this someone to have eyes for you and you only, if you would do anything for that someone, if that someone is your everything and nothing could replace it, then you are in love."

"Oh," said Herb simply before falling silent for a few seconds. "Jotaro?"

"Hmm?" he replied gently.

"I love you," she said simply with as much emotion as she could put in a single sentence.

Jotaro smiled. A full blown smile that only his first wife had ever seen, when Jolyne was born to be precise. He felt deliriously happy. He was now glad that Michiru had found love by herself. He would have hated to break her heart. This was what true love felt like, he now realised.

"I love you too," he replied gently to Herb before holding her tighter.

Herb smiled and snuggled closer into Jotaro. She soon fell asleep, her smile never leaving her lips. Jotaro succumbed to a peaceful slumber with a similar smile etched on his face.

* * *

Herb returned to consciousness. She had had such a nice dream. It had started badly but the end result was worth it. She had felt loved in this dream and it had felt wonderful. She didn't want to wake up from it. It felt so warm...

"I know you like where you are but we still have to wake up," said Jotaro amused. "We have to explain the situation to Mint and Lime. They remain your closest friends. And given how far they were willing to go to protect you, they deserve to know."

Herb's eyes snapped open. She noticed Jotaro looking at her with an indulgent smile. She then blinked and smiled.

"I'm glad," she said. "It wasn't just a dream."

"No it wasn't," replied Jotaro with a hint of humour. "Get up. We have your retainers to calm down. I don't think they slept if they were thinking about how to tell you about your father."

"He is not my father!" replied Herb venomously, her face twisting from happy to enraged in less than a second. "He lost that right. I will make him pay!"

"You're already healing your wounds and planning for your revenge," denoted Jotaro. "Good. You're rather resilient. Let's focus on getting you back to your birth form first, my Queen. Revenge is a dish better served cold."

Herb listened to him and breathed deeply to calm herself. She then noticed something in what Jotaro had said.

"Why are you calling me your Queen?" she asked curious.

"Because you are a Queen," replied Jotaro. "And you are mine. But I'm also yours. That's what love is among other things, a mutual possession. You are the only one I would ever consider receiving orders from."

Herb felt her heart soar at that and smiled broadly. She then put back her plates of armour and her cloak.

"Have a flair for drama, haven't you?" said Jotaro.

"Sort of," replied Herb. "I'm royalty, I'm used to drama."

"Let's go," said Jotaro.

Herb nodded and followed him as he opened the door for her. Mint and Lime were already in the living room. They looked like they hadn't slept much. They looked nervously at Herb before noticing Jotaro following her from her bedroom. Mint frowned.

"What exactly were you doing in our Prince's bedroom?" he asked suspicious to Jotaro.

"Waking him up, what else?" replied Jotaro.

"We've been here for two hours," countered Lime while frowning. "You don't take two hours to wake up somebody. You must have spent longer in there. What were you doing?"

"You discovered me," said Jotaro dramatically. "I was having a passionate homosexual tryst with your prince."

"As if," snorted Mint, not believing it at all.

"What does 'homosexual' mean?" asked Herb curious.

"It refers to two men or two women being in love with one another," replied Lime.

"So for you to dismiss the possibility, you must have known that I wasn't male anymore," said Herb in her undisguised voice.

Mint and Lime sweated. They had lied to their Prince and she knew it. This was bad. Herb removed her cloak and revealed herself to her retainers for the first time. Despite their fear of their leader's disappointment, the two warriors couldn't help but notice that she was beautiful.

"There's a very good reason for our masquerade," said Mind nervously.

"Like protecting me?" replied Herb neutrally. "I know."

Mint and Lime looked at her aghast before sending glares at Jotaro.

"You told her of it after our discussion?" growled Lime.

"Not at all," Jotaro shot back. "I showed her Happosai's letter before we went to eat."

"Tell me you didn't tell her about what we discussed about," prayed Mint.

"I didn't," replied Jotaro, much to their relief, although they were now saddled with the hard task. "However, I had a mike on me during it and she had the loudspeaker connected to it. She heard everything we said."

Mint and Lime opened their eyes wide. They were afraid of their Prince's reaction.

"I'm not entirely satisfied with the fact that you hid something this important from me," said Herb with a frown, making Mint and Lime sweat. Her face then relaxed and gratitude was visible. "But I know you did it to protect me. I also know that you took great risks to save my life. For that alone, I am grateful."

She then rushed into the stunned retainers and held them in her arms. Mint and Lime weren't prepared for that and hugged her awkwardly.

"It was nothing, Prince Herb," said a flustered Lime.

"Stop calling her Prince," interrupted Jotaro. "Like it or not, we are her only friends. She needs equals more than she needs subordinates. So for now, consider her an equal."

"Please," begged Herb. "I would prefer it. I owe you my life."

"You're not upset?" asked Mint uncertainly.

"I was yesterday," answered Herb. "But Jotaro helped me get over it. Will you please treat me as an equal?"

Mint and Lime looked at one another and acquiesced firmly. It was against protocol but the whole trip was against protocol. They were quite happy that Herb considered them friends. They liked their charge after all. Speaking of their charge...

"My question still stands," finally said Lime. "What were you doing in Herb's room?"

"Sleeping with her, what else?" said Jotaro obliviously.

"WHAT!" shouted Mint and Lime. "How could you?"

Herb looked confused.

"What is wrong with sleeping together?" she asked confused. Her two retainers looked apoplectic at the question.

"We fell asleep together," clarified Jotaro. "What were you thinking we did?"

Mint and Lime looked embarrassed. Herb looked at Jotaro quizzically.

"What were they thinking about?" she asked curiously.

Mint and Lime shuffled on their seats uncomfortably.

"I'll tell you later," Jotaro told her before turning to Mint and Lime. "Unless one of you gentlemen wants to give her the Talk? She hasn't heard it yet."

Mint and Lime opened wide eyes before looking at one another and then shaking their head vigorously.

"I'd feel much more comfortable if you did it yourself," said Lime. "At least you didn't do anything unseemly to her."

"Depends on your description of unseemly," Jotaro shot back. "I did kiss her thoroughly."

"WHAT!" shouted Mint and Lime.

"It was extremely nice!" gushed Herb, oblivious to her retainer's reaction. "I lost all sense of time for a while and I felt more pleasure than I ever have. After that he said that he loved me." She was blushing as she said that.

"To be fair," added Jotaro. "You said that before me. I couldn't leave you alone in revealing your heart's content so I followed suit."

Mint and Lime were looking at the duo with wide eyes. They were glad that their Prince had found love but there would be problems with that.

"Err, Herb," started Mint slowly. "You do realise that by pledging yourself to a male you are forfeiting the throne?"

"I didn't realise," said Herb with a mixture of surprise and indifference. "But is it really worth it?"

"Well, if that's the only problem, I can be a woman when needed," interrupted Jotaro.

All heads snapped towards him, including Herb's.

"You would?" she asked awestruck.

"Of course," answered Jotaro. "I don't mind being a woman. Not all the time, mind you. But at least long enough for your royal functions."

"What do you mean, you can be a woman?" asked Lime.

"I have the same Jusenkyo curse as Herb," replied Jotaro. "Just not locked. It is actually quite useful. There are many advantages to being female. Speaking of which, I wish to amend our trip."

"What for?" asked Mint confused.

"There are a lot of training ideas I haven't talked about," replied Jotaro. "If only because Herb didn't want you to know that she was female. Let's plan again."

They discussed about their plans for most of the day. At the end of it, Jotaro gave a list to Jin about supplies they would need (mostly food). As Jin was about to get them, Jotaro stopped him. He gave the stunned manager a one kilogramme gold ingot. Jin's eyes widened dramatically and he eyed Jotaro stupidly.

"How did you expect to pay for our supplies?" asked Jotaro rhetorically.

"This is way too much for the list you gave me," protested Jin.

"I don't exactly care," replied Jotaro. "I'm richer than Ryuuji, I can afford it. Besides, I know that you are involved with the local branch of Amnesty International. You can always give them the change if you don't know what to do with it."

Jin blinked and nodded respectfully before biding goodbye to Jotaro. He definitely was an interesting character.

As evening came, Herb was convinced by Jotaro to come and eat with them.

"Do you think I can go to the restaurant in my usual clothes?" asked Herb.

"I'm not sure," replied Jotaro. "I could always lend you a tuxedo, even though it will be hard for you to conceal your femininity in it. Or I could ask Jin if you can go in your usual clothes."

"I would like to go for the tuxedo," replied Herb. "I need to change clothes either way. People will gossip about me though."

"Fuck people," replied Jotaro casually. "You should be proud of who you are. Besides, you aren't in your kingdom and you aren't here for diplomatic purpose. People's opinion subsequently doesn't matter."

Herb rather liked Jotaro's way of dealing with people. It was... refreshing. And since she was in Japan incognito, she could afford not to care about people's opinion on her.

"I'll be taking a bath then," said Herb as she got up.

"I'll be leaving a tuxedo for you in your bedroom," said Jotaro as he followed her. "Call me back after you put it on so I can adjust it."

Jotaro followed Herb to her room and left a tuxedo on the bed while she went in the bathroom. As he went out, he noticed that Mint and Lime were looking at him intently.

"What?" he asked neutrally.

They considered him for a minute as if they were debating silently what to tell him. Lime decided to go on the offensive.

"Do you love Herb?" he asked bluntly.

"With all my soul," replied Jotaro without hesitation, surprising the Musk duo. "I know it sounds awfully corny but this is the best way to describe the intensity of my feelings. I haven't felt that much in love since I met my former wife."

"You've had a wife?" asked Mint aghast.

"Yes," replied Jotaro before becoming sombre. "She died in a disaster I couldn't prevent. It's not something I like to dwell on. I've taken steps to prevent something like that from happening ever again."

Mint and Lime digested that.

"How far would you be willing to go to protect Herb?" asked Lime.

"I'll die before her if I can help it, that's for sure," replied Jotaro firmly. "And short of a nuke, there are few things out there that can actually kill me."

It sounded like an arrogant boast but, having seen Jotaro at work, Mint and Lime knew better. They knew Jotaro was powerful and skilled. They also knew he never told lies, although he wasn't above withholding parts of the truth. He wasn't bragging, he had just told what he thought to be the truth.

"There's a thing you should know about dragons," explained Mint. "It affects Herb since he has one among his ancestors. It's a strange behaviour that is not explained as of these day so the legends say that it is because of magic."

"Magic is mostly composed of phenomena that science and logic cannot explain due to a lack of means," said Jotaro idly. "Although there are a few things which defy logical laws. Go on."

"Right," said Mint. "The thing about dragons is that they are loyal, fiercely so, to their mate. It's a bit strange to observe but once a dragon has consummated his relationship with his mate, he will totally lose the drive to seek others, even though the first would die or forsake it. This is the reason why King Cinnamon never remarried after his wife died during childbirth. This also explains why Ginger never married after his wife died, even though he could have marry a woman from a noble family to widen his political clout. Well, he actually would have if this trivial fact wasn't known by just everybody among the Musk. Everyone knows that he wouldn't have loved another woman after having sired a child, so he would have lost all credibility among nobles. Not that these useless parasites actually care but the people take marriage vows extremely seriously. It would have caused uproar."

"So if Herb and I..." started Jotaro.

"He'll be unable to ever love someone else beside you," interrupted Lime. "Even though you'd die, even though you'd forsake him, even though you'd treat him lower than dirt, even though you'd torture him, he would still love you."

"That's totally unfair," commented Jotaro. "I'm not even affected by it."

"I know," replied Lime. "Now you understand why we are a bit leery about your love. Herb seems pretty smitten with you. I don't want him getting hurt."

"I will tell her about that aspect of her legacy," said Jotaro. "After that, the choice is hers. She will be the one affected the most by it after all."

"She will be the only one affected by it," corrected Mint.

"Absolutely not," countered Jotaro. "It affects me too since I am the one she loves. And I am the one who could hurt her the most. It's a great responsibility over her. It is also one I am willing to take."

Mint and Lime smiled softly. They had been right about telling Jotaro. He was really in love with Herb and would treat her right. They noticed that the door of Herb's bedroom was open.

"Could you please avoid mating with him before he is back to his male form, though?" asked Lime. "I think he would prefer to be male for his first time."

"I don't make promises I know I can't keep," replied Jotaro cheekily. "Besides, once she learns what the deal with sex is, I'm pretty sure she will be rather eager to try it."

Mint and Lime sighed. They hadn't believed it would work, after all. The door to Herb's bedroom closed soundlessly. Inside the bedroom, Herb leaned on the door, a smile gracing her lips. She then went to the bathroom, intent on getting clean.

Ten minutes later, Jotaro heard the door to Herb's bedroom click open. He turned towards it and noticed that Herb was beckoning him. He went to her room and closed the door behind him. Herb was wearing the tuxedo he had given her but it had to be adjusted. Seeing how much Herb's chest seemed to be bursting from the tuxedo, Jotaro deduced that she had bound her breasts previously. They were at least as voluminous as Jotaro's ones when he was in his female form, if not more. Jotaro told this to a blushing Herb.

"I bound them before since they showed way too much and would obviously reveal that I am female," she detailed. "But it restricted me way too much. I didn't realise how much until I freed them."

"I can imagine," replied Jotaro. "I'll have to introduce you to bras later. I'd give you one of mine but I think they are too small and it wouldn't be comfortable. Let's arrange your tuxedo. And make a makeshift bra out of your bindings. It will help you deal with them until we find real ones. Take off the jacket and the shirt."

Herb blushed at the idea of exposing herself to Jotaro. Not out of shame, strangely enough, but out of excitement. She took off the jacket and the shirt and exposed herself in front of Jotaro, her hands covering her breasts. Jotaro paused and admired her a little before snapping back to reality and taking the bindings Herb had taken away.

"Lift your arms in a T-shape," asked Jotaro gently but firmly.

Herb blushed more but did so, exposing her shapely voluptuous breasts. She noticed that Jotaro's eyes twitched slightly before he got his emotionless mask back on but Herb had seen the glimpse of something hidden within Jotaro's eyes: desire. He wanted her. She didn't actually know for what but the feeling such a realisation elicited within her pleased her, even though it made her blush more. Jotaro then took the bindings and arranged them so that they supported Herb's impressive bust in the same manner as a bra. Whenever he lightly touched her breasts, Herb couldn't repress a gasp. It felt good, better than she would have thought. When Jotaro finished his work and released her, she let out a reluctant sigh that he noticed. It took all of his self-control not to ravish Herb on the spot.

"How does it feel?" he asked, hiding the battle within him. Herb moved around a little before smiling.

"It feels great!" she exclaimed. "Better than I have ever felt as a female. It is so comfortable."

"Real bras feel even more comfortable," replied Jotaro. "But this should do until we get some for you. Now to alter your tuxedo..."

Jotaro then eyed Herb for two seconds before altering parts of the tuxedo with a speed and a precision that impressed Herb. He then told her to don it and she did so. The shirt had been altered to a feminine cut as well as the jacket, which now framed Herb's but and put emphasis on her femininity. Jotaro then put a tie around Herb's neck and altered her trousers. She kept her slippers since Jotaro didn't have shoes her size. She looked in a mirror and was rather pleased with the result. Jotaro had pound into her head the fact that she should get used to her female form and be proud of her femininity and despite being originally a male one this tuxedo put forth her charms. She looked like a very fine and modern woman, dangerous too and professional too.

"Definitely a Queen," summarised Jotaro with a satisfied smile. "Let's rock your retainers' world. I bet they'll be surprised."

Herb nodded and followed him out of her room. True to Jotaro's words, Mint and Lime were left open-mouthed by her appearance.

"And you wonder why I call her Queen?" asked Jotaro rhetorically. "Look at her and tell me she doesn't look like one, I dare you."

"I get it," sighed Lime. "But you'll have to forgive me if I don't call Herb that. I'm too used to him being male to call him Queen."

"Fair enough," replied Jotaro. "Let's eat."

The quartet went to the palace's restaurant, where their presence attracted the attention of all the patrons. To be fair, it was mostly Herb's presence that did it, Jotaro too to a lesser extent. Mint and Lime had to agree grudgingly that Herb had the bearings of a queen in that getup. They attracted attention through the whole meal, especially since they didn't choose a private booth. At one point, a jealous woman commented loudly that Herb was probably a tramp. Herb didn't understand the implications but Mint and Lime did and they were far from happy. Before they could retaliate, however, the woman found herself head first in her dish of soup and made such a scene that she had to be evicted from the restaurant. All the Musk members noticed that Jotaro had a vindictive smile and deduced that he had done something to her. They just couldn't figure what. Once they finished their meals, they went back to their suite where each of them went to their bedroom, except for Jotaro, who actually had to use his yet. He waited for a few minutes before going to Herb's bedroom. There, in front of her bemused eyes, he pulled out his laptop and a video-projector and set them in front of a blank wall.

"It is time for you to learn about reproduction, sex, desire and what they entail," declared Jotaro.

He spent the better part of two hours to explain thoroughly to a rather blushing Herb what she had to know on these subjects and more. Jotaro didn't limit himself to the usual Talk given to teenagers but made also sure that Herb knew about social aspects related to sex and instructed her in desire and pleasure. At the end of it he told her about what Mint and Lime had talked to him about.

"I know about that," replied Herb, still blushing. "I heard you talk about it. I just didn't realise fully what mating was."

"So you realise how much of a decision it is and that you shouldn't rush it," Said Jotaro calmly.

"I know that," replied Herb with her head down. "But I just don't care. As long as I am with you, I don't care. And if it is anything remotely like what I experienced yesterday, I... I want... I want you to mate with me."

"Even though the consequences are non-reversible?" asked Jotaro.

"Yes," replied Herb firmly while still red. Her crimson eyes were betraying a burning desire.

"I said that the decision was entirely yours and that I would just tell you what it entailed," said Jotaro as he suddenly got near Herb.

He caught her cheeks between his hands and looked straight into her eyes. Herb could see passion no one else could have elicited from Jotaro in his eyes and her breathing got ragged under its intensity. Jotaro was losing all of his control and Herb rather liked it.

"That said," he said heavily, "I want to make you mine."

"Then take me," demanded Herb breathlessly.

"Your wish is my command, my Queen," replied Jotaro in a determined voice.

His lips then locked onto hers.

***Straight Lemon Start***

The kiss began sensibly like the one they had shared the day before. It was when the battle of tongues began that it became interesting. Their kiss became way rougher, each of the participants striving for dominance over the other. Herb didn't know if it was because of her dragon ancestors but she felt rather turned on by this. She gripped Jotaro's head and grabbed his hair roughly while trying to swallow his tongue. Jotaro retaliated by hugging her as though he wanted her to fuse with his body. He dragged himself to the bed before collapsing on it, dragging Herb with him. Herb took advantage of her new position and started to grind her body on his, eliciting extremely pleasant reactions on her body, particularly her breasts, which were mashed ruthlessly against Jotaro's torso, and her loins, with which she felt a pleasant hardness against her coming from Jotaro that both intimidated her and excited her.

Jotaro suddenly grabbed her butt and started to fondle it roughly, making Herb gasp and release his lips. He immediately took profit of her momentary weakness to capture her ear with her mouth and suck on it. Herb was surprised by the unexpected but pleasant feeling and started to moan. Jotaro's hand, the one that wasn't fondling her derrière, was stroking her back in a seemingly random (but that she knew was extremely elaborate) way, enhancing her pleasure and making her grind herself more in him. She used the hand she didn't use to grab Jotaro's head to start stroking his torso gently. Jotaro stopped sucking her ear and stroking her and Herb stopped, wondering if he didn't like it.

"It feels nice," said Jotaro to her, making her smile and resume her ministrations. "Of course this calls for retaliations."

Without any other warning he resumed fondling her, except that his right hand snaked from Herb's back to her left breast and massaged it gently. Herb moaned louder and arched her back and head, revealing her fragile neck that Jotaro started to kiss without hesitation. She pressed his head closer on her neck and Jotaro sucked hard on it, leaving a kissing mark. He then started to lick his way to her lips, much to Herb's pleasure. Herb was steadily building up in pleasure and she liked it very much. The only thing that bothered her was that Jotaro was doing most of the work. This wouldn't do, she wanted him to feel good too. She felt Jotaro pinch her nipple through the fabric of her clothes and gasped explosively. She decided that she'd been at his mercy long enough and that it was time she took control.

Herb suddenly pulled Jotaro's head back, revealing his neck, and bit him lightly, not enough to really hurt but enough to leave a bite mark and draw blood. She then licked and kissed the blood seeping from the wound. Jotaro growled in pleasure. It was kinky beyond what he had tried with Michiru and he had tried a lot of things with her. Herb didn't stop there. She released Jotaro's head and her hand found itself resting on Jotaro's crotch. For someone who had known nothing about sex beforehand she was a surprisingly quick learner. She started to stroke the turgescent organ before grabbing it frankly through the strained cloth of Jotaro's pants and pumping it up and down. Her hand barely covered its girth. If his groans were anything to go by, Jotaro was extremely pleased by her actions. She continued pumping him for a moment while she was licking and kissing his neck before she started to unbutton his Chinese shirt, revealing his rock hard pectorals and defined abs. Herb couldn't hold a sigh of longing at the view. It was probably the fact that she had spent two weeks in a female body and that hormones had had ample time to play havoc with her mind but she thought that the fact that Jotaro was the first person to ever love her fully played a non-negligible part. Given their curses he had taken the time to explain homosexuality to her and the concept interested her. Her hand trailed on this sculpted torso, stroking and teasing it for all it was worth, before her mouth followed, trailing down from Jotaro's neck and kissing and licking its way down to his nipples, leaving the occasional kissing and bite marks, until she reached Jotaro's left nipple and started to suckle on it before biting it lightly as she pinched his other nipple and pumped his shaft harder. Jotaro gasped explosively and realised that if he let her go on longer he would come soon. He didn't want to so soon. He thus had to regain control.

Herb suddenly felt grabbed and pushed on the bed, her hands and mouth leaving Jotaro's body with regret as her rear and breast lost the pleasurable contact of Jotaro's hands. She needn't have worried too much. Jotaro immediately pounced on her, grinding himself in her in a pleasurable fashion as he was holding both of her hands firmly above her head and preventing her from moving her legs. Herb noticed that he had gotten rid of his jacket and shirt and that his upper body was now bare. She could have easily wrestled her way out of his grasp but in this position, Jotaro dominated her and had her at his mercy. She licked her lips. She liked it, very much so.

"Trying to make me come before you, weren't you," growled Jotaro teasingly. "Naughty, naughty."

"What will you do to punish me?" asked Herb impishly.

"Retaliate, what else?" answered Jotaro idly. "Besides, you have way too much clothes on you."

He immediately bit her lightly on the neck and licked the resulting blood like she had done, making her shiver in pleasure. It was probably a side-effect from her dragon ancestry that she liked biting and blood so much. Jotaro's free hand then undid her tie and threw it away before it opened Herb's jacket and her shirt, revealing her quite prominent bust wrapped in bandages that acted like a makeshift bra that did nothing to hide her arousal as her nipples were protruding due to the ministrations Herb had undergone earlier.

Jotaro kissed his way down to Herb's breasts while leaving a trail of kissing marks and bite marks on her neck, collarbone and upper chest. Then he reached the bandaged breasts and started to suck on her still covered erect nipple, making her moan with abandon, while he massaged her other breast with his free hand. He then uncovered her nipples with his hands, leaving the rest of the breasts covered. The effect looked incredibly erotic to him and he resumed his onslaught on her nipples vigorously. Herb was starting to scream in pleasure by now. Then she noticed that Jotaro had released her hands and wondered where it had gone. She suddenly felt it caressing her belly and her breathing hitched. It didn't even occur to her to use her hands to stop him as she grabbed the head of the bed.

Jotaro was stroking her belly gently, making inane patterns with his fingers and palm that actually heightened the pleasure felt by Herb to the point that she was shivering. Then the hand went lower. It unfastened the last buttons of her shirt before tearing it out of her trousers, removing the belt with ease and opening said trousers before taking them off of Herb's thin long muscled legs, revealing that a loincloth was all that preserved her modesty. Jotaro started to rub her groin through the loincloth. Herb was desperately trying not to scream but couldn't prevent her breathing from becoming ragged. She was feeling pleasure like she had never felt before and from what she knew they hadn't even gotten to the interesting parts yet. She wondered if she would be able to withstand it. Despite the haze of delight that was clouding her mind, she had the presence of mind to bring her hands down on Jotaro's crotch. Then, realising she currently had fewer clothes than him, she decided to remedy to that situation. In a swift movement, her delicate hands had undone the strings that held Jotaro's pants together and had gotten rid of them with Jotaro's cooperation. She was currently fondling his manhood and buttocks through skin-tight boxers that left close to nothing to the imagination. After a few minutes of pleasuring each other, Jotaro decided to prompt her to go further.

"We should get rid of all our clothes," he said to her. "It will make all of this more comfortable."

Herb nodded before Jotaro got off of her and she regretfully let go of him. However, she knew that they would be resuming their pleasurable activities soon. She got up and was about to remove the bandages from her chest when Jotaro stopped her.

"What are you doing?" she asked curious. Did he want her to keep it? The view of her breasts bound with only her nipples visible was highly erotic, that much was true.

"I'd much rather it was me that take the bandages off," he replied with a hungry smile. "It's just like opening a present, only much more interesting."

Herb understood and nodded with a slight flush. She put her arms the same way she had done when Jotaro had bound her breasts and Jotaro started to unravel the bandages.

However, he doing so at an incredibly slow pace!

Jotaro was indeed prancing slowly around her, taking the bandages off and giving her light caresses, as well a lot of kisses and bites. He also kept stroking her nipples lightly when his hands got near them. Herb was soon on fire due to the incredibly frustrating process. She was fidgeting and breathing heavily. She felt moisture spread on her loincloth and deduced that she was terribly aroused. As soon as Jotaro finished unbinding her chest and revealed it to the world, she dashed on her knees in front on him and yanked his boxers down, revealing his engorged manhood. It seemed that she hadn't been the only one to be aroused by the unbinding of her breasts. She grabbed it eagerly with both hands, not managing to cover it all with them, and started to stroke it vigorously, making Jotaro groan loudly. She occasionally grabbed his testicles to fondle them gently. She was starting to get aroused herself by what she was doing. Moreover, Jotaro's penis was now exuding a strong smell that was playing havoc with her sense of smell. She sniffed it a few times, becoming more and more entranced, before she couldn't restrain herself anymore and took a lick on it. Had she been told only two days before that she would actually like the taste she would have beheaded the messenger on the spot. But now she knew better. She knew that she liked it because it was the taste of the man she loved. She continued to lick the tip of Jotaro's manhood frenetically, still pumping the rock-hard member with one hand and fondling Jotaro's balls with the other. She was literally entranced by this, and Jotaro's growls of pleasure did nothing to stop her. If anything, they heightened her arousal. Liquids were seeping from her loincloth on the ground. At one point, Jotaro could bear it any longer and grabbed her head gently but firmly before guiding her where he wanted her. Herb understood what he wanted immediately, although he hadn't even talked to her about it, and opened hear mouth hungrily before engulfing the pulsing shaft in her rather small mouth.

Jotaro could help but grunt loudly in pleasure as he moved Herb's head gently to have her pump his manhood with her mouth. Herb refrained from biting, knowing that it would be far from pleasurable. Instead, she went on with the flow, lips curled around Jotaro's shaft, still licking it hungrily while it was in her mouth, making her tongue coil around it. She felt a bit of the salty liquid she had seen on the tip on her tongue and couldn't help but be delighted by the taste. She continued to bob her head up and down Jotaro's length, being so entranced by this that Jotaro stopped guiding her and instead put his hands down and started to fondle her chest, meeting her approval. She released the hand she was using to pump his shaft and brought it to her loins so as to pleasure herself. She kept fondling Jotaro's balls all the while. This level of stimulation soon became too much for Herb and she had her first orgasm of the night. Liquids flowed from her womanhood and drenched her loincloth and the floor under her. She tried to howl but still had a mouthful of Jotaro's cock and the effect of her howling was extremely pleasurable for him, even though she had stopped doing anything else due to the pleasure she was now experiencing. It made her feel weak and she impaled her throat on Jotaro's non-negligible member, taking it down her oesophagus and feeling Jotaro's soft pubic hair on her nose. Due to her different constitution, she didn't have a gag reflex and was still able to breathe then whereas Jotaro hadn't been able to. She remained like this for an undetermined amount of time until she tried to swallow her saliva, making her oesophagus constrict in ways that made Jotaro gasp and prompted him to take his shaft out of her mouth, lest he erupted inside.

"That was close," he said breathless. "I was about to come in your mouth."

"Why didn't you?" asked Herb once she had regained her breathing. Jotaro blinked.

"My sperm would have gone down your throat and would have choked you," he answered. "Besides, I wasn't sure you'd like the taste."

"I'm willing to try," she replied. "Besides, my constitution isn't the same as normal humans. Your penis was actually down my oesophagus instead of my throat."

Jotaro blinked again.

"I didn't know that," he admitted. "There are many things I will have to learn from you."

"If you want," she replied, "but you have yet to come."

"You can help me with that," assured Jotaro gently before getting a lecherous smile. "Want to try something else?"

"Always!" said Herb eagerly. "What do I do?"

"Follow my lead," answered Jotaro with a smile.

He then sat on the edge of the bed and brought her to her knees in front of him so that she faced his shaft. She expected to suck on it again with a certain anticipation but Jotaro took her hands and put them on the sides of her voluminous breasts. Where Jotaro had D-cup breasts bordering on E-cup, Herb had F-cup ones easily. Since she was sensibly taller than Jotaro's female form, they didn't look too big though. Her body was indeed proportioned like Jotaro's female one, a highly attractive and curvy female body. Jotaro then brought Herb gently over his dick and buried it between her breasts. He then motioned to Herb to bounce her breasts up and down his manhood. Herb did so eagerly, actually becoming aroused again by the practise that Jotaro described as 'titfuck'. As she made her breasts stroke Jotaro's cock, she noticed that she still could take a part of it in her mouth, long as it was, and did so eagerly, much to Jotaro's pleasure as he started to groan loudly in pleasure. Herb moaned in elation as she serviced Jotaro with her mouth. She saw the sheer pleasure Jotaro was feeling on his face and her heart soared as she realised that she was the one to bring him to such heights of delight. She continued like that for a while, becoming clearly aroused if her eyes were of any indication. Suddenly, Jotaro's face contorted in pleasure and his penis pulsed several times. He barely had the time to tell Herb that he was coming before he erupted his first shot in her mouth. Herb was so surprised that she released Jotaro's member from her mouth. It sent one shot on her nose and lips, one on her cheek and several on her chest. Herb remained dumbfounded for a few seconds before she swallowed the drop she had in her mouth before licking her lips. She then proceeded to wipe the remaining sperm off of her with her fingers and to swallow it as well, making an erotic show of it.

"It tastes strange, a little bitter" she said. "But not that bad. I'm sure I could grow to like it." She then noticed that Jotaro's manhood was going limp. "You're shrinking!"

"A normal reaction for a male, I assure you," he replied casually. "It will take a time of rest before it becomes fit for action once again." Noticing Herb's disappointment, he added: "But that doesn't mean I can't pleasure you with other means. Time for me to go down on you."

Without warning, he took a squeaking Herb in his arm, fondling her derrière in the process before laying her on the bed. He then grabbed her loincloth and took it off in nearly one go, exposing a triangular patch of pubic hair above her womanhood. It was every bit as exotic as her normal hair with most of the upper base of the triangle being pink, the middle and part of the outline being dark blue and the lower apex being silvery white. Jotaro raised an eyebrow, wondering how it was possible, before shrugging. He had seen weirder after all.

"Does your male form also have your unusual hair pattern?" he asked Herb with a small smile.

"Yes," she replied with a blush. She wondered if he would be repulsed by it. She had had enough problems as a male with her hair colour.

"It's exotic," commented Jotaro. "And I like exotic."

Herb smiled at that and Jotaro spread her legs, revealing her womanhood to him. He wanted to go for the prize but wanted to get Herb fired up first. So he reached for her pubic hair and started to stroke it, playing with it and making Herb shiver in anticipation. Meanwhile, he started to kiss and bite the inside of her right tight, gradually getting closer to Herb's flower. Then, as he was so close to it that his breathing made her shiver in anticipation, he drew back his face and started to kiss his way up her left tight. Herb actually growled in frustration. Jotaro's attitude was excruciating. She wanted him to touch her womanhood and she wanted it now!

Jotaro lingered in front of Herb's inner lips, blowing air on them lightly and making Herb squirm with anticipation as he was massaging her belly and pelvis gently. Herb endured this treatment for a few minutes before she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Why won't you touch me?" she half whined, half cried.

"I was waiting for you to ask, what else?" replied Jotaro as if nothing was wrong. It was in fact taking all of his control not to ravish the multicolour-haired beauty in front of him and it showed in his eyes.

"What are you waiting for, then?" she almost growled.

"You didn't ask properly and politely," he answered casually but with a hint of steel in his voice. He was determined to have her ask him. And it was working. She couldn't hold it anymore.

"Please, pleasure me," she asked.

"And how?" he shot back with a wide smile. "You're not exactly precise in your commands, my Queen. I wouldn't want to do something to you that you don't actually want."

Herb gritted her teeth. He was determined to have her debase herself. And it was turning her on on a scale she had never experienced before. He was sending her over the edge. She sighed frustratingly before putting her ideas in order.

"I beg of you," she started. "Touch my most intimate parts with your fingers, let your tongue trail on my labia, insert your fingers in my shameful orifice and lick the juices that leak from it, use all of your skills on my womanhood but do something!"

"Your wish is my command, my Queen," said Jotaro with a face-splitting smile.

And his right forefinger started to stroke Herb's clitoris through its hood. Herb couldn't help screaming in agreement and arch her back. Jotaro's mouth then found itself parting her outer lips and teasing her inner lips. He licked them thoroughly, lapping whatever juices came from what they were surrounding. He took one between his lips and suckled gently on it, making Herb squirm. He did that for a minute before taking the other lip between his teeth and biting gently on it, not enough to draw blood. Herb actually cried in pain but at that moment, Jotaro pinched her clitoris and the cry of pain evolved into a moan of pleasure. Herb was writhing in pleasure and she knew Jotaro hadn't even reached her vagina yet. She wasn't sure if she would be able to remain conscious but she was eager to try. Jotaro brought his tongue exactly between her inner lips and trailed it over her virginal orifice. Herb moaned in appreciation but Jotaro wasn't finished. He snaked his tongue into her opening, which was now leaking love juices in a steady flow. He decided to taste the fluids at their source and suckled on the said opening as his tongue tried to fit in the extremely tight conduit. Herb was definitely a virgin in her female form. She hadn't even broken her hymen, she hadn't travelled much and hadn't actually trained in this form. As he wiggled his tongue in Herb's vagina, said woman was screaming in pleasure. She had believed previously that she had reached the peak of pleasure but she had been wrong. Jotaro was making her discover her erogenous zones and she was feeling as if she had died and gone to heaven. Jotaro suddenly withdrew his tongue, making Herb sigh in disappointment. It didn't last long as she felt a finger being inserted in her vaginal canal up to the second knuckle. Herb welcomed the intrusion with a "Yes!" of delight and wiggled some more, trying to bring movement to Jotaro's finger. Jotaro noticed and started to stroke her inner walls gently. Then, as Herb was becoming more and more vocal in her delight, he became faster and rougher with her. Herb was now screaming Jotaro's name, much to the said man's pleasure. He lifted the hood over her erect clitoris and gave it a lick, making Herb gasp in more pleasure. He then started nibbling on it, resulting in her becoming absolutely breathless due to the stimulation. If she didn't faint from pleasure, she might still due to lack of oxygenation of her brain. She was now thanking heaven for letting her be a woman and thus able to experiment such feelings. She suddenly felt Jotaro's other hand trail on her perineum and get dangerously close to her most shameful opening.

Herb would have been disgusted by such actions had she not been for the pleasure and anticipation she was feeling now. Given how pleasurable it felt now that she was at her peak of arousal (what she thought was, at least), she understood that Jotaro had wanted for her to be in this state to try what she would have flat-out refused if she had been in her normal state. To be honest with herself, she was anticipating Jotaro's hand on her rear orifice. Jotaro knew what he was doing and everything he had done to her until now had brought her to new heights of pleasure. So she told him, between gasps of delight, to go on. Jotaro nodded while holding her clitoris between his teeth and such actions brought jolts of ecstasy to her. Jotaro's fingers then reached her anus and started to stroke its rim, eliciting new sensations of pleasure from this erogenous zone Herb didn't know she had until now. Jotaro played with the rim of her anal opening for some more time while still pleasuring her flower before he inserted a wet finger fully at surprising speed.

Herb gasped explosively. She felt fuller than ever with both of her opening invaded by Jotaro's wiggly fingers. The sensations from her rear were strange at first but she trusted Jotaro and thus waited some more. Besides, she was already pleasured from the front by Jotaro and thus could ignore the strange feelings coming from the back. But soon enough, she couldn't anymore. It felt... pleasant. More than that, it felt good. Herb was soon whimpering audibly due to the added stimulation. A bit later she was panting loudly, and then screaming in pleasure. It was too much. She wanted to tell Jotaro that she wouldn't be able to withstand so much pleasure but she wasn't able to articulate enough. And if she was honest with herself, she would admit that she wanted to be broken by pleasure. Everything disappeared in her universe but two things, Jotaro and her delight-ridden body. She was thanking whomever it interested for having had the opportunity to enjoy the female body so much. Then she felt _it_ building up, starting from her loins and coursing throughout her body. She knew an orgasm was coming but she also knew that it had nothing in common with the first she had experienced. This one was magnified by a tremendous factor compared to the first she had felt. She felt a brief tinge of fear, wondering whether her body was designed to support such a surge of pleasure or not before she was swept away by delight.

It was a good thing that the rooms were soundproofed, otherwise she would have woken up everyone within the palace with her scream, no roar, of pleasure. Her whole body contorted and arched, as if she was run through by an electric surge (which, biologically speaking, she was. She was bordering epilepsy). Her pupils dilated as her eyes widened, her heart-rate surged, her hands clamped on the bed sheets, her nipples and clitoris became painfully hard, her orifices constricted so much that, had Jotaro been a lesser man, his fingers would have broken, her vagina gushed liquids and her whole body was flushed. It only lasted for two dozen seconds but it seemed like hours to Herb. The pleasure receded slowly and she fell back on the bed, panting loudly while her eyes fluttered. After she gulped one last time, she looked at Jotaro. The man was looking at her with a smile. She could see several things in his eyes. Pride, awe, love and lust. Looking down, she saw that his turgescent member was rock hard and standing proud. It was rather obvious to her that he was restraining himself from pouncing on her.

She eyed his turgid appendage with a mix of apprehension and desire. Then she looked at his face and almost melted. There was concern in his eyes. Despite his desire, he thought of her well-being first. She then looked down on his shaft once again before nodding slightly at him and lying back on the bed in the process, spreading her legs and opening her arms in the process, inviting him onto her without ambiguity.

"Are you sure?" asked Jotaro carefully. "I know you weren't female at birth but your virginity is still something you can't get back once you have lost it. Besides, there is the life imprint from your dragon ancestry. Are you sure you want to pledge yourself to me?"

"I have never been surer of anything else," said Herb in a sensuous tone that made Jotaro twitch involuntarily. "I know I should be careful with things like that but you are the person I trust the most, so I don't care. I'm yours and I want this fact to be carved in my body and soul. Take me, now!"

Jotaro eyed her for a few seconds before prowling towards her nude and nubile form. He crawled onto her and kissed her sensuously on the lips while she closed her arms around his (rather manly) body. He released her lips and sent her the most beautiful and lovely smile she had ever seen.

"I accept the responsibility of being your mate for life," he said intently. "And I swear on everything I hold dear that I will do my best to protect you, help you if need be, and make you happy, till death do part us." He paused for a second, before adding in a wondering tone: "I'm pretty sure that married people pledge something similar. Which means that we are married in everything but name."

"Then take me," whispered Herb with longing. "Take what's rightfully yours. Make me yours once and for all."

"Your wish is my command, my Queen," said Jotaro huskily. "Just remember to repay me once you have gotten you male body back." He then put his pelvis between her legs and touched her wet folds with his cock, making her shiver in anticipation. "This might hurt at first but I will make sure you forget that fact quickly."

Herb nodded shyly, yet determinedly. Jotaro kissed her roughly bringing her in a battle of tongue, while he massaged her breasts and nipples. Once he had her dead to the world, he penetrated her.

Herb did feel pain but it was ghostly and disappeared fast. Besides, she had suffered way worse in training. She thus barely twitched when Jotaro's member entered her folds, overshadowed by pleasure and love as she was. Soon, her loins were tingling pleasantly before being taken over by an inferno of delight as Jotaro started to pound into her, first gently, then faster and harder as he noticed the rapture on Herb's face and felt the pleasure coursing through his shaft. Herb didn't realise it, at least she didn't seem to, but she was tightening her vagina in way that made the experience extremely pleasurable for Jotaro. It had taken Michiru several times to learn to constrict hers that way and Herb seemed to be doing it unconsciously.

Herb was in the seventh heaven. It felt at least as pleasurable as what Jotaro had done to her previously but this time she was in his arms and this magnified the rapture she felt. Besides, Jotaro was massaging her breasts and stroking her nipples, which was enhancing the pleasure she felt. She ground herself into him, kissing him ravenously and crossing her legs behind his back, enhancing the penetration. Herb was moaning loudly into Jotaro's mouth. At one point, Jotaro lifted Herb as he sat on the bed. Herb was a bit surprised but Jotaro left her breasts to grab her rear and massaged it sensuously before lifting her up and down on his member. She felt fuller than before and couldn't help but vocalizing her rapture by howling her approbation. She was holding Jotaro tightly with her limbs and was grinding her breasts on his chest, eliciting pleasurable sensations in her nipples. Jotaro was grunting in exertion, occasionally silencing Herb's cries with a kiss, and was fondling her but with abandon as he lifted her up and down his cock. He had never felt that high-strung while making love. He felt as if his whole universe had converged on Herb and wanted to melt into her.

His hand trailed on Herb's rear orifice and started to stroke its rim once again. Herb moaned in additional pleasure and begged him to proceed. Jotaro didn't need more encouragement and inserted two of his fingers in the opening before stroking Herb's innards. The multicolour-haired woman was now howling her delight louder than before. She was high on pleasure and felt it grow into her body as it had done before. Only this time there was something with it. It felt like... love. She loved Jotaro so much that tears of happiness came to her eyes as her orgasm hit her. A tremendous "Yes!" escaped her lips and resonated in the room as she fainted under the combination of pleasure and love.

Jotaro felt Herb's vagina tighten almost painfully around his shaft and her anus constrict around his fingers. It was enough to send him over the edge and he ejaculated in her while howling victoriously, which actually surprised him as he usually was more reserved when in the throes of passion. He collapsed back on the bed with Herb on him. He noticed that the woman had fainted. He liberated his fingers from her ass and his member from her folds, before stroking her back gently.

***Straight Lemon End***

If her smile was anything to go by, Herb had fainted from pleasure. Jotaro smiled at that. Then he almost jumped in surprise. Herb was glowing.

Her skin was emitting several coloured lights in different places. It started from her nether regions and her torso before taking over her whole body. The light was changing colours at fast pace before settling for the purest white. Jotaro summoned Star Platinum just in case but he needn't have. The light felt warm and welcoming. It then coalesced in her heart and jumped towards Jotaro before entering his heart. He didn't move since he felt overwhelmed by all the love Herb felt for him. It was love he hadn't felt since he divorced from his first wife. A small tear of happiness escaped his eye as the light hummed into his heart. Then the light left his heart and went back into Herb's. Herb smiled widely in her sleep before stirring. She opened her eyes and looked at Jotaro.

"It seems that the bonding process occurred," said Jotaro with a smile.

Herb's eyes widened before she steeled herself and, before Jotaro could react, she struck at him with her fist.

* * *

A.N: I succumbed to the temptation of the Evil Cliffhanger... That being said, I used one at the end of the prologue, so it isn't exactly new. I had a great time writing that lemon (I think it is a one of a kind on ff dot net. I saw one involving Herb-chan in a story by Sarge4 but the chapter isn't on this site even though the main story is) and, strangely, an even greater time writing the backstory behind the Musk debacle.

I took some time uploading this chapter due to a mix of moving (ten thousand km away from home, mind you, but still in the same country, which is France for those who want to know), getting in my final year (unless I decide to continue to a thesis/PhD), searching for a training job to get my diploma, buying even more games and a surge of writter block later in the story. I have several chapters in advance but I don't like publishing them when I'm not making progress later in ther story. Might be a reflex to keep some leeway in case I get myself in a dead-end later on. Plus these game I keep buying give me ideas all the time. Most of them won't ever be put in text since I don't actually know where to go with them but some of them are persistant despite being unmatured (there is this Negima/Bioshock crossover that keeps tantalizing me even though I still think it is a bad idea and my Ranma/Valkyrie Profile cross is slowly taking shape in my mind). I won't promise anything but you should see at least two chapters before the end of the year. After that, it might become even less regular, depending on my training. Wait and see.


	25. Nightwish

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

WARNING: No lemon but still a few naugthy things. And some slightly darker stuff

XXIV) Nightwish

Jotaro was so surprised that he didn't even think of defending himself. He would have felt hurt but he was convinced that Herb loved him, so he thought that it might be an aspect of the bonding process. Herb was obviously not that human to begin with. Besides, courtship and mating rituals were sometimes strange, even among people he knew. Had Yukako Yamagishi not admitted to once sequestrating and trying to kill Koishi Hirose, he might not have believed the stories Josuke had told him about the love-drunk couple.

His reasoning crumbled when he noticed, a fraction of second later, that it wasn't him Herb was striking at but towards somewhere above and behind him.

Right into the still visible Star Platinum.

Herb's eyes widened when her fist phased into the green-skinned muscle-bound colossus. She prepared to strike back but she didn't have the opportunity. The apparition shouted "Ora!" and grabbed her fist as soon as she took her hand back from its body. Herb startled and tried to strike with her other fist. The apparition caught it with its massive glove fist, eyed her for a few seconds and released her. Herb jumped away and took a stance while eyeing the Stand with a frown. She then looked at Jotaro and was surprised to see that he hadn't reacted to the entity's presence. He was instead eyeing her with surprise.

"You can see it?" he asked wonderingly.

"I'm more surprised by the fact that it didn't surprise you," replied Herb sharply. "And why shouldn't I be able to see it?"

"You didn't before when it was activated," answered Jotaro, much to the Musk princess's surprise. "It's a part of me that only one other person in this world is supposed to be able to see. You are the second one to manage that. What makes me wonder is why you didn't see it sooner."

Herb looked genuinely startled and relaxed. She looked at the armoured entity and at Jotaro before she put her left hand over her chest. Jotaro followed the said hand but when he noticed where it went he lost some of his reserve. Herb then looked at Jotaro's heart and then at his eyes.

"What occurred when I was asleep?" she asked.

"Your body emitted multi-coloured light," answered Jotaro, seeing where she was going. "It started from your loins and heart before covering your whole body. Then it concentrated in your heart and coalesced into a ball of light that went into my heart. It was so full of your emotions that I'll remember it as the second best thing that ever happened to me. Then it left me and went back into your heart and dissolved there."

"It's probably the bonding," said Herb after thinking a little. "I don't know the specifics, since my father hoped that I would die before performing it, but I know that there are things to gain from bonding with someone powerful. I probably gained it from you. What is this entity, by the way?"

"It's a Stand," answered Jotaro. "It's a projection of my vital energy that has been granted insane abilities and that allows me the use of some of them. It's intangible when I want it to be, as you saw yourself, and the only constant rule with Stands is that only Stand Users can see them."

Jotaro looked at Herb insistently and Herb caught on quickly.

"This means that I am a Stand user," deduced Herb. "Which mean that I have a projection of vital energy like this one." She paused for a minute before straightening herself, making her breast do very interesting things. "What can you tell me about Stands?"

Jotaro stopped eyeing her breasts and looked into her eyes.

"Come with me in the bathroom," he told her. "I'll tell you everything you need to know as we bathe."

Herb nodded and followed him, the both of them still naked. Jotaro filled up the bath with hot water before taking Herb in his arms and lowering her into the water. Herb shivered pleasurably at the contact with the liquid. She had had mixed feelings about it for the last month since warm water embodied her loss but as of now she cared sensibly less about it. Jotaro put her onto him, her back on his torso, and closed his arms around her curvaceous form. Herb laid her head onto his shoulder and eyed him expectantly.

"There are several things that I intended to tell you," started Jotaro. "The most notable one being that I am forty years old and that I wasn't born in this universe." Herb opened wide eyes at that and listened intently. "I died in my former world in 2012. To understand the chain of event that lead to this, I'll have to go back to the 1890's in my former world, eighty years before I was even born. It all started when the English lord Georges Joestar the First adopted a young man called Dio Brando, a young boy intent on getting as much power as he could get by whichever means he could find. Dio found an Aztec Stone Mask a few years later..."

And Jotaro told her the complete and unabridged version of the tragic history of the Joestar line. Herb was awed by the events the family had had to face. She was surprised to learn that Jotaro had been married and was rather pleased to learn that he considered his first marriage only the third best thing to happen to him. She wouldn't even have been upset to learn that she came after his first wife in his heart but she was still pleased to know that she came second. She wondered what the best thing to ever happen to Jotaro had been, at least until he told her that it had been the birth of his daughter. The more she learnt about this daughter who had acted tough because she was upset that her father had abandoned her, the more she wished she could have met her, if only to try to get her approval for being with her father. She was distraught when she learnt of the terrible fate that had befallen Jotaro's world and was impressed by his resilience.

Then Jotaro told her what he knew about Stands, including all the ones he had encountered. Herb listened raptly, memorising the characteristics of Jotaro's friends, including the portraits he had drawn, although she memorised the Stands with more attention given that they wouldn't change when their owners would change bodies if what Jotaro had learnt had been true. Jotaro finally told her about the Arrow that awakened Stands.

"I unfortunately don't have this Arrow anymore," he added. "I gave its head to my daughter and she kept it. I have stolen an artefact from the Amazons that has similar properties. It kills most people while giving strange powers to others. I'm pretty sure that its properties are similar to the Arrow but I never dared to test it."

"Can I see it?" asked Herb.

"I don't see why not," answered Jotaro while he took it from Doorspace. He took the gold-hilted dagger with the green ornate blade and shoved it to Herb, who eyed it curious, mindful of not touching it. Then it happened.

As he moved to change his position, Jotaro's leg suddenly ripped in the tub. He soon caught himself but his jerk had destabilized Herb. The dragon descendant wavered and whirled her arms to steady herself. As she realised that it wouldn't work, she tried to grab whatever she could. Unfortunately, Jotaro had also moved his arms to try to catch her. Herb's right palm met the tip of the dagger. The tip perforated her hand fully as if it were made of butter, the hand being stopped by the hilt of the dagger. Herb cried in pain and jerked her hand away from the dagger, leaving a bloody gap between two phalanxes. Jotaro became deathly pale as he noticed the wound. Herb put it in the water extremely fast. She was surprised when Jotaro grabbed her roughly yet carefully, as if she would break at any time.

"Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.

"I'll alright," replied Herb soothingly. "Just a nasty cut. Don't freak out like that."

"Don't you remember?" countered Jotarowith a hard face that denoted his worries. "This dagger kills nearly anyone it wounds!"

Herb looked at him with wide eyes, then took her hand out of the water. She was surprised to see that the wound looked cauterized. It left a hole in her hand. Herb eyed it for a few seconds before looking back at Jotaro.

"I'm not dead yet," she told him wonderingly. "Does it mean that I will develop strange powers?"

Before Jotaro could answer, all the light disappeared from the bathroom, leaving the couple in the darkness.

As he was trying to get his bearings back in the dark, Jotaro felt Herb stiffen on him.

"Calm down," he said soothingly. "It's just dark here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"It's not that," replied Herb somewhat on edge. "I'm seeing in the dark. But it's myself I'm seeing, and in strange colours at that."

Jotaro immediately understood what was going on. He had gone through it more than twenty years before.

"Will the light back," replied Jotaro. "Everything will become clearer."

Herb paused before nodding, although she realised too late that Jotaro couldn't see her. She then concentrated and the light suddenly came back. Herb reeled back, visibly disorientated. Jotaro noticed this and deduced what was happening.

"Are you having another angle of vision?" he asked her gently. "For that matter, do you perceive the world with another set of senses?"

"Yes," replied Herb somewhat awed, still disorientated. "It is located on the ceiling."

Jotaro turned his head to the ceiling, Herb followed suit. She saw herself turn her head from the said ceiling, which was very disturbing. She finally saw it and her eyes widened.

It was avian in shape, but in shape only. It looked like a translucent and shimmering swallow whose plastron was pink, whose back, tail and head were dark blue and whose legs and beak were white. What was surprising was that it looked mechanical, with a metallic shine and a back looking as if it were made of solar panels. Its eyes were the most surprising since only one was uncovered and it looked like a red camera lens. The other was shut by what looked like a camera shutter. The mechanical swallow held itself to the ceiling's lamp with its talons and was looking at them intently. The light rays suddenly bent towards the back of the mechanical swallow and progressively disappeared from the room until it was dark once again. Then light came back progressively the same way it had vanished, light rays bending between the swallow's back and the lamp until the swallow released them. Then the avian being flew swiftly from the lamp before landing on Star Platinum's shoulder. The green-skinned colossus looked at the swallow before stroking it lightly.

"It's a Stand, alright," Jotaro eventually said as he put the dagger back into Doorspace. "The dagger really awakens Stands."

"What should I call it?" asked Herb while the bird Stand flew on her arm.

"Nightwish," replied Jotaro on the spot.

**Stand Stats:**

A: Very Good / B: Good / C: Average / D: Bad / E: Poor

Star Platinum

Strength: A / Speed: A / Range: C / Staying: A (Previously C) / Precision: A / Learning: A (Previously C)

Ability: Can move with amazing precision and destroy things with tremendous power. Range is only about two metres but it can move at unbelievable speeds, additionally it has the ability to stop time for five seconds. It seems odd to say that time stops for _five seconds_ when it is at a standstill but this is roughly how the user perceives it. Can be infused into its user to enhance his abilities.

Nightwish

Strength: E / Speed: A / Range: A / Staying: B / Precision: C / Learning: D

Ability: Can alter the course of light beams, allowing it to plunge a place in the dark. Can see all kind of radiations, not the visible ones only.

Mint and Lime had been waiting for some time for Herb and Jotaro to get out of their bedroom. They held no illusion that Herb was still a virgin after what had happened, it was quite obvious that she was smitten with Jotaro. Besides, they didn't think there could be a better person than Jotaro for Herb. The man was powerful, smart (clever, even, when when he was angry at someone) and determined. Above all, he obviously loved Herb and was maybe the only one apart from them and the reigning emperor to do so. The two retainers were currently discussing whether Herb should come back to the Musk kingdom or not. It actually was a hard decision to take and it had started an animated debate between the two of them. Lime thought that if Herb didn't come back, she would lose everything she had and her father would get what he wanted. And there was no denying that Ginger's being emperor would be a catastrophe for the kingdom. Mint however thought that Herb had nothing to lose and should follow her heart, which would most probably lead her to follow Jotaro. They were still discussing vehemently about it when Herb and Jotaro came out of the room. Had they not been sitting down, they would have fallen in surprise. Jotaro was smiling broadly, not his mocking smirk or his impassive smile but a full-blown smile. From what they had learnt about him, this was rare enough to be noticed.

As for Herb, she was glowing. Literally. Mint and Lime blinked a few times, wondering if they were dreaming.

"I didn't know that the bonding process made a dragon descendant glow," said Mint eventually. Herb and Jotaro laughed.

"It's not due to the bonding, although it is linked to it," explained Herb, smiling.

"I happen to have a strange power," detailed Jotaro. "Since it manifests itself in a humanoid form to me and stands by me, I call it a Stand. When Herb bonded with me, she acquired a power of similar nature. As of yesterday, she is a Stand User."

"It's not as impressive as yours, though," frowned Herb. "But well, given that you're the only one able to see it, it doesn't bother me that much."

"Size doesn't matter when it comes to Stands," countered Jotaro. "Some of the most powerful Stands I ever saw were extremely small. That said, it could also have an extremely weird ability. The first one we discovered is strange enough. That said, it is extremely useful and I'm pretty sure that you haven't discovered all of its abilities."

"I should hope so, although the ability I know of is extremely useful," replied Herb.

Mint and Lime looked at each other before turning to the couple.

"Excuse me," asked Lime, "but I would like to know what a Stand is. And what is this ability you speak of, Herb?"

"A Stand is a projection of energy that can only be seen by Stand Users," explained Jotaro. "There are next to no fixed rules about them but this one, which explains why you can't see it. As for Herb's new ability..."

He winked at Herb and Herb smiled wickedly in return. Then Mint and Lime were witness to the extremely strange phenomenon of all the light in the room coalescing on a single point behind Herb before vanishing altogether. They were extremely surprised but managed not to scream.

"The best part," added Herb while moving around, "is that I can see despite the dark. There are lots of radiations other than visible light that are invisible to most eyes. I can use them to see in the dark."

Mind and Lime whistled appreciatively as the light came back. Jotaro had the final word.

"I think that we will have to extend our trip slightly to teach you how to better use your Stand," he told Herb simply. "Let's get our things and start the first stage, we'll improvise from there."

The others nodded and helped him pack, although he carried most of their things. Not ten minutes later they were off for a month long trip. Herb didn't know it yet but she would learn more during this initiating trip than during her whole life.

The wilderness wasn't that much different in Japan than it was in China. The species might not be the same, but due to its specific geography, Japan offered a wide variety of climates and places on a rather small scale. The major difference with China was the fact that wilderness was rarer in Japan and on a significantly smaller scale. The Kaisuiton might be in China but Jotaro wanted to train Herb in Japan, mostly because he knew the country better than he knew China but also because he wanted Herb to get accustomed to big cities, which were further away from the wilderness in China.

After two days trekking in the wild to get to a rather deserted place, Jotaro started to train Herb in several fields, including how to use her Stand at its fullest. The first order on the agenda was to teach her how to move silently and inconspicuously. Nightwish might suppress light but it didn't suppress sound, footprints or smells. Mint and Lime, being accomplished warriors and hunter, were able to help them with these ones. Jotaro admitted that he hadn't known all their tricks to leave no traces or to mask his smell. He discovered that escaping Mint's nose was extremely hard and that Lime could hear him sometimes. That said, Jotaro was more silent than any of them were when moving, so he became the reference when it came to stealth. Herb had a hard time learning that since none of her previous teachers had seen fit to teach her this aspect of fighting. She had always been told to rush loudly in battle. It was new to her and she was learning an awful lot.

Coupled with stealth training was survival training. The group used none of their supplies for the first ten days. Herb was decent but could do better, Jotaro was good but Mint and Lime were accomplished survivalists. Jotaro spent most of these days as a female since it had rained early on. Which led to him teaching lesbian sex to an extremely interested Herb. Which led to a rather embarrassing moment for Mint and Lime. Which in turn led to a discovery for Herb.

Mint and Lime had just woken up from their sleep. They had slept rather fitfully, given how used they were to sleeping in rough places. They had thought Herb would have had difficulties but the Musk heir had taken to it rather well. Though they could have been spared the explanation made by a smirking Jotaro that he was exhausting her with sex to make her sleep more easily. Herb had been blushing so hard at Jotaro's open perversion (he called it basic honesty but the smirk he had in these instances wasn't fooling anyone, especially given how the smirk grew when Mint and Lime became outraged) that she hadn't had the presence of mind to deny.

They were coming cautiously to the place where the group cooked their meals when they heard muffled cries that unmistakeably belonged to Herb. Throwing caution to the wind, they dashed to the place where they heard the cries. When they arrived, they stopped and opened wide eyes before blushing madly.

Herb and Jotaro were fully naked on the moss in the forest. While Jotaro was on all four with her head between Herb's legs, Herb had a hand on her mouth trying to cover her cries of delight. Then she opened her eyes. She blinked once before reacting like any female in her situation.

"EEEEEEEEKKK!" she shrieked as she tried to preserve her modesty. "Don't look!"

Mint and Lime would have complied but something happened before they could.

Jotaro and Herb vanished from view in a blink, leaving the moss spotless, as if they had never been there. Mint and Lime panicked.

"The Hell?" uttered Lime frantically.

"Herb!" shouted Mint. "Jotaro! Where are you?"

A voice made them jump in surprise as it came from where Jotaro and Herb had been and where they currently weren't.

"You mean you can't see us?" asked Jotaro. It was extremely strange since she could still see herself and the still naked Herb. Herb opened wide eyes as she uncovered herself. She rose and noticed something strange.

"There's a strange shimmering half-sphere around us," she told. Jotaro looked around before shaking her head.

"I can't see it," she told her. "Which means that it is one of your Stand's abilities. It is even more useful than the previous one since you can surprise your opponents even more."

Jotaro then moved around the bubble she couldn't see with her hand in front of her. Herb was about to tell her that her hand had just crossed the sphere but her retainers beat her to it.

"Holy shit!" shouted Lime. Jotaro stopped on the spot.

"What's wrong?" she asked the duo.

"Your hand just appeared out of thin air," replied Lime with awe.

"So this means that this sphere you see is the limit of your ability, Herb," deduced Jotaro.

"Impressive," replied Herb, awed despite herself while looking at Nightwish.

"Well, since we are invisible..." started Jotaro as he closed on Herb.

On the outside, Mint and Lime heard her and wondered what she wanted to do.

"What are you...?" started Herb before her voice took a wholly different tone. "Ooooooohh... Yes! Right there! Don't stop!"

Mint and Lime blushed brightly as Herb's cries became more and more vocal and explicit. They decided that discretion was the better part of the valour and fled with their metaphorical tail between their legs.

It later appeared to them that Nightwish's sphere of invisibility could be expanded up to thirteen metres in radius. Jotaro had had the idea while thinking about Shizuka Joestar and her Achtung Baby. However, Herb couldn't move out of the vicinity of the sphere. Nightwish had the highest difficulty to make the sphere move without problems. Besides, Jotaro had deduced that he could still feel Herb's presence within the sphere and had thus taken to teach her the Umisen-ken. It wouldn't make her totally undetectable but unless someone was searching for her very presence in this precise area they wouldn't find her. Jotaro had theorised that rather than make the inside of the sphere invisible, it send an image of the inside that fit Herb's will. It wasn't true invisibility, but Jotaro was pretty sure that Herb would eventually achieve it.

After the survival training, they had spent a bit of time training themselves in various ways of fighting. Jotaro had taught Herb, Mint and Lime the Umisen-ken, the Yamasen-ken, as well as every Amazon technique he had learnt. He had even started them on Xiao-lee and hyposthenia. Mint and Lime had some trouble, it would probably take them years to learn it, but Herb had taken to it like a fish to water. It was energy manipulation after all. And if there was one thing dragon descendants were good at, it was energy manipulation. The hardest part for Herb had been to let herself be hit. She had taken a week to stop reacting instantly to hits. It had then taken her only a few days to learn the release of energy. Once she managed to do so, she became extremely good at it. Besides, although she looked extremely delicate, she was tough, less than Lime but probably as tough as Taro in his Minotaur form, which was saying something. As such, only Jotaro managed to discern whether she was simply taking hits or using Xiao-lee. Even Jotaro couldn't fool people that well, and he doubted Happosai could either.

Jotaro had also taken the time to explain to her how the modern world worked. Herb had surprised him by her aptitude at economics. Jotaro had taken to help her devise ways of economic development that could be applied to her kingdom. She was also frighteningly good at negotiating and diplomacy. This pleased Mint and Lime since it had taken care of most of her shortcomings when it came to ruling a kingdom.

Later, they went back to the cities. But not anywhere in the cities. Jotaro wanted to show her the darkness in the human heart. As such, he took her to the seediest parts of Kobe. The Yakuza weren't as present as they were in Tokyo, but the Chinese and Taiwanese mafia were there. The deadliest fights were also here. Herb had to learn to rely on her body only.

Suedo Atsushi was a mountain of a man. Almost two metres tall, weighing more than a hundred kilos, he had so many muscles that he didn't seem to know where to put them all. To top that, he was a master at Karate and had been its rising star until he was forced to go in the underground scene for reasons that were his alone. But fate had been cruel to him. Suedo hadn't wanted to fight for a good three years and would have given anything to stop, especially since he was expected to be brutal and merciless to his opponents. He was rumoured to be someone you fought only once. All his opponents in the underground scene had been forced to abandon fighting after fighting with him due to their lasting wounds. When they didn't die against him, that is. That was the rule of underground fighting. Fight until you drop. Suedo didn't like this mentality, he actually abhorred it. But he had no other choice. His 'employers' had him by the balls. He couldn't say no to them. Even though he wanted to kill them.

Today, his employers had told him that his opponent was of the small and agile kind. He loathed it. He was extremely fast for his size, which always surprised his opponents. Thus the small and fast ones lost their advantage against someone his size and were usually totally crushed. At least opponents his size faired a fighting chance and weren't squashed like bugs.

He scoffed at the encouragement he received from his 'fans'. He despised them. They weren't really his fans, even though they betted heavily on him. Most of them didn't care if they won only a handful of yen by betting on him. All they wanted was to see blood. Sharks, the lot of them. Actually no. That was an insult to sharks. Sharks only hunted to feed. These bastards wanted to see other humans suffer, bleed and die only for their own sick baser satisfaction. Suedo sighed and steeled himself. He had a role to play and the consequences of not performing to his employers' satisfaction were too dire to contemplate. He rose from his corner and went on the sandy arena.

The arena was a sandy octagon with wooden walls to close it. Two opposing metal doors led to it and were closed from the outside. Once inside, the contestants had no choice but to fight, fleeing wasn't an option, not with the armed guards up the walls. The seats were rising up from there. The arena wasn't that big but it was renowned. It didn't have a name since it was wholly illegal but people had taken to calling it the Underground Arena.

As Suedo entered the arena and the door closed behind him, he muttered a quick prayer for the unfortunate soul that would soon fight him. If the guy was lucky, he would go away with a few broken limbs or ribs. If not... Well, Suedo didn't want to think about it.

"_And against our undisputed winner, an unusual challenger!_" shouted the referee. "_She comes from the wilderness in China and wants to test her strength!_"

Suedo sighted. Japan, China, Europe, America... It didn't make the slightest difference against him.

Wait a minute...

The referee had said 'she'...

Suedo lifted his head as his heartbeat accelerated in horror. They wouldn't dare...

"_Let's applaud Herb Jako from the Bayankala Mountains!_" shouted the commentator.

As some in the crowd applauded and most booed, Suedo's opponent arrived. As the door closed behind her, Suedo was about to refuse the fight, damn the consequences, when he saw something that stopped him.

No matter how strong they were, or felt they were, his opponents had always been apprehensive when they saw him. It was a sort of instinct. They always felt like prey against a predator. That's why they fought so savagely. They were afraid and often desperate.

His opponent was indeed a woman. A striking woman at that, with a very pretty face, exotic eyes and a curvaceous body that made most men whistle at her in appreciation. She was clad with nothing but a tight top and boxers that made it obvious that she wore nothing under them. It made her all the more desirable. She was relatively muscular but not that much and was far from tall. Suedo dominated her by a good head if not two. She should be prey to him.

Yet she wasn't.

Suedo saw it in her eyes. Her face was emotionless and betrayed nothing but intense concentration. She was seizing him up. Then the unthinkable happened.

She smirked.

Viciously.

"You wanted defeat," she told him with a crystalline voice that reached him despite the ambient noise. "I will make you taste defeat."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Suedo felt like the prey in front of the predator. He was so unused to this that, as soon as he heard the referee shout "Begin!" he dashed at her and sent his strongest punch right in her face.

He was a bit surprised when she took him without even straightening herself or trying to avoid. He almost hit himself when he saw her whirl haphazardly in the air as if she were a rag doll. The match would be over now...

At least it would if she didn't land gracefully on her feet in a fluid way, as if she were made of water. Her nose was slightly red due to the hit and a small rivulet of blood flew down from her left nostril. She licked it without shame and smiled wickedly. Everybody was silent, even the referee. They might not be martial arts masters but everyone in the crowd knew that Suedo had used all of his colossal strength against her.

Herb cracked her neck and walked towards him, not even threatening, totally relaxed. She closed on him and for the first time in his life Suedo felt an urge to flee. He thus reacted by kicking her savagely in the stomach. Herb didn't react, she didn't even contract her abdominal muscles. She just flew back under the blow and landed in the same manner as before, her smile even wider. She walked towards Suedo once again. The same thing occurred a few times. Suedo would hit Herb with everything he had, mostly out of fear, and she would just fly away before coming back at him. The crowd was now booing at their accustomed winner. Herb frowned at them before she visibly strained herself. It started small enough but it became obvious soon to Suedo. The idiots up the wall didn't seem to notice it but he knew she would soon do something drastic.

Her chest swelled and swelled before she stopped and closed her eyes. When she opened them it occurred.

"ENOUGH!" she shouted.

Her cry was deafening. The sand flew away from her on a two metre wide radius, revealing the concrete under it. Everything made out of glass in the vicinity exploded. Since the lights were LED based, they could still work. Several shouts of pain were heard within the crowd as glass wielding people had glass fragments embedded in their face and sometimes their eyes. Watches were now all broken. The crowd, at least those who weren't writhing in pain, watched her flabbergasted, barely believing that such a delicate woman had produced that much chaos by just shouting.

Herb waited for a minute for Suedo and the crowd to regain their hearing. Then she spoke to him.

"You're strong," she told him. "None of these pitiful wastes of space realise how much you are, only those who fought against you can tell."

It was a testament to the effect Herb had on the public that none of them dared to protest at the insult.

"However, strength doesn't matter against Xiao-lee," continued Herb. "It allows me to nullify my opponent's strength. Moreover, hyposthenia allows me to store it. I won't use this skill against you anymore. And I will release what I have stored. Let me show you how much you put behind those twelve hits."

Herb put her arm up and concentrated. Soon the veins were bulging on its surface and it darkened, looking like a chunk of cast-iron. She then propelled her arm on the concrete below her. Suedo's eyes widened as he saw the ground explode around her. The noise was almost as deafening as her previous shout. The ground shook, making more than half of the crowd fall. Shrapnel flew away from her and hit the crowd. Some of it hit and cut Suedo but he couldn't care less. Even with thirty centimetres of sand, fault lines could clearly be seen throughout the whole arena. Suedo saw this and knew his fear of the young woman had been justified. He licked his lips. Despite his terror, despite his fears of what might occur should he lose, he couldn't help but fell anticipation for what was probably the first time since he last fought outside of this place. Herb saw this and smiled widely.

"Let's fight," said Herb simply. "No restrictions except for me. Give me all you've got. This time, you are the prey and I am the predator."

Suedo remained still for a few seconds. Then he howled. It was a primal howl which only use was to give him courage. He dashed at Herb and started to hit her. He used his most lethal techniques on her, hitting all the weak points he knew of. He hit her groin, her kidneys, her solar plexus, her carotid, her temples, between her nose and her upper lip (her philtrum) and between her eyes. During this onslaught, Herb didn't even move. She had some blood on her since some of the hits cut her but that was all. She licked some blood on her lips.

"My turn," she just said.

And Suedo's world exploded with pain. He couldn't even discern the hits that fell upon him. They were so destructive that he couldn't count them. However, he managed to realise that she never hurt him. He also realised that she was just slapping him. It might sound ridiculous but the skin is the most sensitive organ of the body and spreads all over it. Herb slapped him so hard that Suedo fell on the ground in pain. He could barely breathe. This technique that should be reserved to women and children was frightening when used in a fight. Then again, Herb was a woman, so she was entitled to use slaps.

Suedo fell on the ground and didn't move. Herb looked and him and knelt beside him. She brought her beaten yet lovely face near his.

"Why do you fight if you don't like it?" she asked frowning.

Suedo looked at her and his face displayed anguish.

"They have my sister," he told her while tears appear in his eyes. "I don't know what they will do to her now that I have lost."

Herb's gaze hardened.

"What's her name?" she asked, no demanded.

"Mari," replied Suedo. "Mari Atsushi."

Herb poked a point on his solar plexus and the pain started to recede.

"You will fall unconscious in a minute," she told him. "When you wake up, your sister will be at your side."

Suedo tried to open his eyes wide but he didn't manage. The pressure point had taken all of his strength. He could just look at what would happen. Had he been able to see Stands, he would have seen a mechanical swallow flow to a man wearing a cap and a trenchcoat. A second later, the man took a Gatling machinegun from... somewhere and the slaughter began. None of the guards escaped and the crowd tried to flee. Suedo lost consciousness when the man started torturing one of his employers by breaking his shins.

Suedo woke up with a start. He noticed that the ceiling was unfamiliar. He frowned for a minute before recalling what had happened before and sat up straight. He didn't feel any pain from the slaps, they had been terrible on his nerves but didn't do any lasting damage. Before he could swirl his head frantically around the room, a voice stopped him.

"You're finally awake," said the obviously relieved voice. "Not that I didn't believe in the doctor when he said that you would wake up soon but it's good to finally see it for myself."

Suedo turned his head towards the voice. His face went slack with relief and tears of joy came to his eyes. The petite long-haired brunette was none other than his sister, Mari Atsushi. She looked happy and relatively healthy, if not for a fading bruise on her cheek. It was way more than what he had hoped for. Seeing the bruise brought him back to reality, however.

"How long was I out?" he asked carefully.

Mari looked at her watch before answering.

"Sixteen hours, if what this Herb lady told me was right," she told him. "I've been free for about fifteen hours. They didn't take long to fetch me."

She suddenly lost her smile and shivered slightly. Suedo frowned.

"Did the motherfuckers hurt you?" he growled dangerously.

"No!" replied Mari quickly. "At least not much... The worse they did was giving me this bruise on my cheek."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," said Suedo mournfully. "I didn't dare to do anything for fear that they would do something to you. Given how violent Herb's friend seemed to be, it must have scared you when they freed you."

"It was a traumatic experience," admitted Mari. "But not for me. I was just… awed by what was happening. For Herb however..."

"What happened?" asked Suedo.

_Mari wondered when the nightmare would end. She was still relatively healthy, although she had been kidnapped by the Chinese mafia. The guys used her to keep a leash on her brother so as to get him to fight. She didn't like it at all, especially since she knew her brother didn't like hurting people. She would have committed suicide to rid her brother of the chain that kept him in their clutches but she knew he would be extremely affected by her death. Besides, she wasn't sure if the Mafiosi would let him know about it should it occur. And, to be frank, she wasn't treated badly. Sure, she had to be a waitress for one of their seedy club when she could be studying and she got hit sometimes, but at least she wasn't forced into prostitution. Knowing the life expectancy of the girls forced to slave themselves, she knew she had it good._

_This night, however, she had been approached by a perverse-looking bald man with round sunglasses. He was obviously higher in the hierarchy than her minders since he commanded them. He had her strapped on a chair in a soundproofed room. Mari didn't like it at all. When she saw the various implements that were brought to the room (some of them belonged to a surgical room) she started to get scared. When three other men came and started to eye her hungrily, she started to bawl in fear. She was sure that she would not survive tonight. She was also pretty sure that her death would be a slow and painful one. _

_The man who had had her brought here was smiling wickedly as he was installing various cameras._

"_Just setting it up, boys," he said sadistically. "I want a souvenir for later."_

_At that moment, the doorknob turned on its axis. Since the door was locked from the inside, it didn't open._

"_Tch," snarled the bald man. "I told them I didn't want to be bothered. Go tell them that, __Minoru."_

_The man called Minoru went at the door and was about to open it. However, before he could, the doorknob turned once again on its axis. Only this time, it didn't stop at the end of its course. _

_It continued in a loud metallic shriek, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, Mari included. They watched with wide eyes as the metallic door started to fold. It got a spiral pattern as the rotating movement of the doorknob went way further than what it was designed for. They all gulped when the metallic shriek ceased. What happened next occurred so fast that no one saw it._

_The door was torn out of its hinges and flew into Minoru, slamming so hard into him that he was thrown into the wall with it. Both of them fell down, the man unconscious and bleeding from various wounds. Before they even touched the ground, all the others, save Mari and the bald man, fell unconscious on the ground. A man wearing a cap and a trenchcoat appeared behind one as he fell down. A multicolour-haired woman, a tiger man and a wolf man entered through the broken doorway._

"_Your strength never ceases to impress me, Lime," said the wolf man laconically. _

"_Thank you," replied the tiger man in kind._

_The bald man looked shocked on what had just happened. Then he howled and tried to take a gun from his pocket. As soon as he had taken it, he felt himself fly back and hit the wall. He groggily stood up and noticed through bleary eyes that the man with the cap and trenchcoat was holding his gun. He put it in his own pocket and looked at Mari. The woman went at the girl and started to untie her._

"_Let's bring her to her brother, Jotaro," said the woman at the trenchcoat-clad man. "He has worried enough about her." She noticed that she didn't get any response from him. "Jotaro?"_

_Jotaro was looking intently at the bald man in front of him. He then took his laptop from Doorspace and perused it for a minute. He then put it back in Doorspace and straightened. The air around became suddenly heavier. Only Herb noticed what was happening. Jotaro showed nothing of it on his face but he was enraged._

"_Jotaro?" asked Lime carefully, wondering what was happening._

_Jotaro just pointed his finger towards the man. He then uttered something terrible. _

"_He dies," he told neutrally, although Herb could detect hatred in his voice._

_Before he could move, Herb had literally appeared besides him and was now restraining his right arm. Jotaro was about to throw her away when he noticed her eyes. There wasn't reprobation in her eyes, just a mixture of fear and curiosity._

"_Why do you hate him so much?" she asked softly._

"_What he did is the perfect example on why humans are considered the most horrible and monstrous being to ever walk this earth," said Jotaro through his teeth. Noticing Herb's uncomprehending gaze, he decided to elaborate. "This scum intended to have Mari raped. Several times by several of his men at once. Screaming and begging or not. Alive… or not."_

_Mari whimpered despite herself. She might have inferred what had been about to happen to her but it wasn't any less terrifying to hear it._

"_Besides, he would have tortured her," added Jotaro. "See these tools? He would have used them to cut her up in as many ways as he could devise, whether she was still alive or not."_

"_You aren't sure of that," said Mint half-heartedly near Mari. "He could just have tried to scare her." He wasn't that convincing when he spoke. He didn't believe it himself, after all._

"_I know how he proceeds," countered Jotaro. "And from what I saw, he enjoyed it."_

_He suddenly felt the pressure on his arm increase. He looked back at Herb. The dragon princess was looking at him with wide eyes and a begging expression, as if she were begging him not to do something but didn't believe he would listen to her._

"_He did it before?" she asked in anguish._

"_Several times," replied Jotaro unflinchingly but with recognizable disgust as the bald man shivered at the tone. "Three of which there are video footages of and at least twenty-five I suspect him of. At least half of them were minors... One of them was eight years old... He even ate parts of them..."_

_Then it happened. As Jotaro started to explain what exactly the man had done, Herb's face had fallen more and more. Until she broke down. With a terrible scream, she released Jotaro and dashed at the bald man. Less than one half of a second later, he was impaled on the wall through his right lung by Herb's arm. He screamed incoherently, although he was sensibly hampered in this endeavour by the pain and the fact that one of his lungs was pierced and filling with blood._

_Mint, Lima and Mari watched at the scene in shock. Even Jotaro was surprised, he had anticipated a reaction but not to that extent. Herb's face was a mask of unadulterated anger and she was breathing raggedly. Blood drops were coating her face and torso. Then her vengeful gaze cleared. She looked around wildly, as if not understanding what had happened. Then she saw the pain stricken man with her arm in his ribcage. She took it out immediately, making him gurgle in agony. As he fell on the ground, Herb watched her bloody hand with something akin to revulsion as she started to hyperventilate. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and almost lashed out but the hand stroked her shoulder in a way she immediately recognized as Jotaro's. She turned and saw his sympathetic face. _

"_It's never easy killing someone," he told her soothingly. "Especially the first time. You can numb the horrifying feeling for the next times but the self-disgust still remains. If it makes you feel any better, he deserved that and more since he did worse to his victims, much worse. __Now you have a harsh decision to take."_

"_Which is it?" asked Herb in a plaintive voice. Jotaro pointed at the bald and bloody man on the ground._

"_Either you leave him die from blood loss and asphyxiation," Jotaro told her. "It should actually occur in less than fifteen minutes, even if it is cruel to let him suffer, although he more than deserves it. Or you shed the last remains of your innocence for this man who most assuredly doesn't deserve such a sacrifice and kill him in cold blood to shorten his suffering. You have fifteen seconds to decide."_

_Herb opened wide eyes. Her retainer too. They were about to shout at Jotaro but Herb silenced them with a look. Then she looked at the bald man. He looked at her imploringly._

"_Please..." he gurgled, "finish me..."_

_She didn't see the murderer, torturer and rapist anymore. All she saw was a man in pain. Tears flew from her eyes as she made her mind._

"_How do I kill him painlessly?" she asked in a chocked voice. She was about to throw away the last remnants of her innocence for a wretched being, but her principles demanded it, even though it was painful for her. Jotaro eyed her sharply but with approbation._

"_Take his head and turn it as if you were trying to reset his vertebras," replied Jotaro. "Only this time, make the angle at one hundred and eighty degrees instead of ninety."_

_Still crying, Herb nodded and crouched near the man before taking his head between her hands, almost gently. She seemed to falter, then she felt Jotaro's hand on her shoulder and steeled herself._

"_HA!" she shouted. And a resounding crack was heard. _

_The bald man fell lifeless on the floor. Herb watched the corpse for five full seconds before she eventually broke down. She dashed into Jotaro's arms, buried her head in the crook of his shoulder and started to bawl. She cried her heart out for her loss. Jotaro just held her in his arms and turned to Mint and Lime._

"_Bring Mari back to her brother," he told them. "Leave this to the police and meet us in one week at the next stage. I'll take care of Herb."_

_He then took her in his arms, letting her cry, and took off. Mint and Lime sighed wearily. They hadn't intended for Herb's first kill to be so horrible. Mint turned towards Mari._

"_Your brother is waiting for you," he told her. "You should dry your tears."_

_Only then did Mari notice that she had been crying for Herb._

Mari dried her tears. Telling the story to her brother had made her cry again. Suedo was strangely silent. He was surprised to realise that he felt sorrier for Herb than for his own sister. That said, there had been no greatness in her kill. He could at least boast about having fought valiantly with his first victim. Herb had no such luck. She was a murderer, however nice of a person she was.

"She will get better," said Mari with a wan smile. "Mint and Lime told me that Jotaro is Herb's husband in everything but name. He has already helped her out of traumatism. He will help her again."

"I hope so," replied Suedo. "I have never fought against anyone as passionate as she was. Even though I hope I never have to fight again."

"You might have to," replied Mari, making her brother's face fall. "However, it won't be something you despise." Suedo instantly reigned in the string of profanities he was about to utter.

"What do you mean?" asked Suedo curious.

"The man whose men brought us here is the businessman Ryuji Kaioh," answered Mari. "He wants to hire a butler for his daughter. Herb's boyfriend knows him and suggested you."

Suedo was quite surprised by the offer. Apart from being tall and scary, he didn't exactly fit in the role of the butler. That said, he could probably learn, and it would be a welcome change.

He didn't know it yet but he was about to strike the best deal he was ever offered. He would soon be the butler to Michiru Kaioh and would secure a place for his sister in the most prestigious high school of the country. There was just one thing that bothered him. His instincts had told him that Herb was a monster, he had had a vision of a stormy sea when she had first appeared, the like of which he wouldn't ever dare crossing. It had been all he needed to know that he would not escape unscathed from a fight with her. He was glad to see that he had been mostly wrong, even though his instinct had been right. But this begged a question. If Jotaro was more dangerous than her, how come he had felt nothing from him?

Besides that, he hoped that Herb would get over her traumatism soon. But he doubted that someone so strong could be downed for long.

Jotaro had taken Herb to a remote place with a cave and a natural onsen. He has spent the first night here holding her silently, just being present. It was all she needed. When she had been better, he had spent a whole day discussing with her. He had told her everything he thought she should know about murder, including the ones he had committed himself. Rationalizing it so much had helped Herb get over it. Then he had taught her several ways of killing painlessly. Herb had been leery about it at first but Jotaro had convinced her by saying that he preferred she learnt it in case she had no other choice.

He then spent the rest of the week helping her to get the event out of her mind. Lovemaking had this interesting side-effect. After five days, Herb was definitely at peace with herself, although she was wondering how she could still move. Jotaro was relentless when it came to pleasuring her.

Then he had told her of the side-effect of being a Stand User and of the Schizoid Man, the Conniving Man and the Bad Gunky. This had helped in bringing closure to her more than what she'd like to admit and she was pretty sure that Jotaro knew but he had not said anything to her about it, which made her think that it was alright.

When they finally met Mint and Lime, the two retainers were relieved to see that Herb seemed to be like her former self. They had been worried, even if they knew Jotaro had the best chances to help her.

"You seem to have gotten over it," said Lime with a smile. He had been hesitant to bring up Herb's first kill but Mint had coldly told him that treating Herb like a glass doll was the most insulting thing they could do to her now that she had gotten over her father's schemes.

"The lovemaking had a lot to do with it," said Jotaro neutrally enough, but Herb could hear the smirk in his voice. "I'll make a sex-goddess out of her soon enough."

Mint and Lime opened wide eyes and Herb blushed fiercely before looking darkly at Jotaro.

"One of these days, you'll pay for that," she muttered threateningly, hoping to make him at least a little bit leery of her in retaliation. She was awfully disappointed in that respect.

"I'm counting on it," replied Jotaro on the spot, almost eagerly. That surprised the other three.

"What do you mean?" asked Mint.

"Soon enough, Herb will get back her birth form," answered Jotaro. "When she does, I hope she ravishes me as a means of retaliation. It's been a while since it happened to my female form."

Herb looked decidedly interested by the prospect.

"That and Herb is awfully cute when she's embarrassed," added Jotaro. "Reminds me on her face when I went down on her yesterday."

"JOTARO!" screamed Herb indignantly before pursuing a now smirking Jotaro.

Mint and Lime looked at each other.

"She's better, alright," said Lime. "I bet you that their dispute ends up in a romp in the forest."

"I don't take sucker's bet," replied Mint with a smile. "Let's hunt something. Preferably in the opposite direction. I don't want to surprise them once again."

"Bah," scoffed Lime. "I've gotten used to it. Besides, Jotaro is right. It's funny to embarrass Herb."

**Stand Stats:**

A: Very Good / B: Good / C: Average / D: Bad / E: Poor

Nightwish

Strength: E / Speed: A / Range: A / Staying: B / Precision: C / Learning: C (previously D)

Ability: Can alter the course of light beams, allowing it to plunge a place in the dark or to create a sphere of illusion. Can see all kind of radiations, not the visible ones only.

A.N: Back again after a rather empty semester on the writing side of my free time. I blame Uncharted 3 and Demon's Soul and a rather funky semester. Can't exactly promise a better update rate now, especially since I just bought Dark Souls and I intend to buy Diablo III...

The second Stand in this story finally appears... after only twenty-four chapters. The next one should appear in two chapters, if some of you are worried. The real Stand battles will only appear near the end on the other hand...

If you don't know the back-story behind Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, try to find one since it would take too long to develop here. Achtung Baby is the Stand of a newborn whom Josuke Higashikata and Joseph Joestar find in Morioh during part 4. The baby renders herself invisible to protect herself, and sometimes affects her immediate vicinity, which causes no end of trouble for Josuke and Joseph when they try to find her. It is mentionned that Joseph adopts her at the end of part 4.

The fight between Herb and Suedo Atsushi is a rip-off of the Baki saga. For one thing, Suedo Atsushi is the first character that we see Baki fight with. The «Killer Scream» is one of Gaia's skill and the Underground Arena is the main fighting place throughout the three series.

The Schizoid Man, Conniving man and Bad Gunky are ideas that I will develop later. The last two are names that I stole from Stephen King but the ideas behind them will be different.


	26. The Escapist

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi while Jojo's Bizarre Adventure belongs to Hirohiko Araki. None of the elements used belong to me, even the Stands that appear that Araki has never bothered to create. Feel free to use them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6.1: Dark Passion Play

XXV) The Escapist

The rest of the trip was way more enjoyable for Herb. Not that the first part hadn't been but her first kill had been somewhat traumatic for her. After that, Jotaro had taken to bringing her to several Dojos to teach her the strengths and weaknesses of the styles. Herb had been surprised to be vanquished by an old aikido master called Goki Shibukawa. The old one-eyed man looked playful enough but he was a master of his own art. Lime had been beaten soundly despite his strength and even hyposthenia didn't help Herb against him since the old master had no strength to speak of and knew of the tcechnique as well. He had revealed that Happosai had taught it to him. Only Jotaro had managed to fight him to a draw. The old man had been impressed and had asked Jotaro why he hadn't beaten him if he had the ability to.

"That's the problem, I'm not sure I have it," had replied Jotaro much to his surprise. "Not without killing you at least. Even then, I'm not sure I'd really kill you even with a rocket launcher."

This had made Shibukawa laugh and he had agreed to train Herb and his retainers for a week. They still weren't able to hold their own against him but they lasted way longer by the end of the week.

They had mat several other masters during the trip, which had been progressively extended to two months. Jotaro would miss the entrance exams to the university but he didn't mind. He had warned the vice-principal that he would spend one more year at Furinkan. During their trip, they learnt about various styles and techniques from a self-exiled Karate master called Doppo Orochi, from a vicious grappler called Jack Hammer and from a former bounty killer who had become a bodyguard called Ryo Saeba. Jotaro had continued teaching Herb everything he deemed necessary. Herb wasn't as knowledgeable as he was but she could easily pass the entrance exams for the best universities of the country by the end of the two months. As spotty as her education had been, it had taught her how to learn efficiently.

They ended up taking the plane towards China. According to the map they had been given, Mount Horai was near Mongolia.

"It doesn't surprise me," had told Jotaro. "This place is the birthplace of many legends. There had to be some truth behind them."

The trek to China had been peaceful and had allowed Jotaro to meet a few martial arts masters with Herb and her retainers. Most of them had been eager enough to exchange techniques with warriors of the fabled Musk kingdom. Only Kaku Kaioh had been harder to convince but when Jotaro had fought him to a draw he had been an agreeable enough, if harsh, teacher.

The group arrived near Mount Horai after two weeks. They had little to no difficulty in arriving here. There had been a fun moment when they had had to cross a gap where the bridge had fallen. Herb had crossed with her Ryu Sei Hisho while carrying Lime. Jotaro had traumatised Mint by using his Jotaro Rocket Strike to cross the gap. This had amused Lime and Herb to no end. When they had come across the savage animals, the aura of the Musk warriors had made them flee. One lone wolf had tried to attack Jotaro since he didn't send off any aura. Jotaro had however flashed for one second in the Neko-ken. The wolf had stopped in his tracks and had howled in fright before jumping in the gap and killing itself. Jotaro had explained the technique and why he tried to avoid using it.

"This sounds like our energy surge techniques," had told Lime.

"Energy surge?" had asked Jotaro.

"A technique we learn from living a year with or animal ancestors," replied Mint. "This is where we take our abilities from. Herb can't learn it since there aren't any living dragons and we figured that you couldn't either. It seems that you can but that it was forced upon you, that's why you can't seem to regulate the energy output. I don't think we can help you with that I'm afraid."

"No matter," replied Jotaro. "I didn't even know it was possible. I have something to strive at."

The group followed the indications the Chisuiton was giving them until they arrived at a hot spring where an ornate kettle was fuming. Herb took it hesitatingly. Jotaro knew what she was hesitating about.

"Do it," he told her. "You will keep your ability to turn into a woman. You'll just be able to get your original body back."

Herb nodded and splashed herself with the hot water. The change occurred instantly and Herb staggered. He was a good head taller than his girl-form and Jotaro's male form. Other than that, losing his feminine curves, gaining some muscles and having his delicate features replaced by manly ones, he hadn't changed. He even kept his multicoloured hair, unlike Jotaro. He tried to walk and had to balance himself.

"This will take time getting used to," he said.

"Let's start now, then," replied Jotaro as he put the Chisuiton and Kaisuiton in Doorspace.

Herb went through several drills until he was reasonably sure of his equilibrium.

"I wonder what happened to my fighting abilities," said Herb while eyeing his palms.

"Only one way to find out," replied Jotaro before his face went neutral. Not that it wasn't before but Herb had learnt rapidly to decipher the extremely subtle hints he sometimes showed that no one could see. Now, he could infer absolutely nothing about his lover.

Jotaro adopted his relaxed stance with his hands in his pockets. Mint and Lime walked back almost involuntarily. Jotaro might look inoffensive in this stance but they knew better than most people. Jotaro was threatening in this stance. Herb opened his eyes slightly and took a stance that revealed almost as few about his intentions as Jotaro's. He had his arms crossed and his feet slightly apart.

"Rules?" asked Herb.

"No firearms for me," answered Jotaro. "And no killing moves. Besides, if you manage to make me use my final ability, then I lose."

"Fine with me," replied Herb with a smile.

The battle was on.

Herb started with a Ryu Sei Hisho that pushed Jotaro away. But Jotaro wasn't about to get beaten so easily and fired a ki-blast. Herb evaded and dashed at him to fight him at close quarters. Jotaro met him head on.

To Mint and Lime, it was almost a dance. The two fighters whirled around almost too fast for them to follow. They used all the techniques they knew. Although there was a slight imbalance between them. Herb was losing this part of the match.

Herb knew he was losing. Sure he hadn't taken any hits, but Jotaro had just defended himself, and only with moves Herb knew. Herb knew Jotaro knew a lot more than he had ever shown him. But it wasn't just inane pride that made Jotaro act that way. Herb was unable to use hyposthenia on him since he didn't strike him even once. For a second, Herb felt doubt about his victory. This second cost him.

Jotaro grabbed his arm as Herb was striking him. Before he knew it, the dragon prince was whirling in the air. Once he was in it, Jotaro jumped after him and lashed mercilessly at him. Herb managed to mitigate most of the hits but Jotaro scored some he couldn't nullify. Herb was sent on the ground rather violently and his head ringed under the shock. Jotaro landed next to him.

"Better step up your game, or you'll bet beaten," said Jotaro neutrally enough. The rebuke was however felt by Herb and he decided to oblige.

Herb summoned Nightwish. The avian Stand appeared and, not even a second later, all light went out. Herb's Stand had gradually become able to absorb nearby light in the blink of an eye. Jotaro took but a fraction of second to adapt.

"Nice try," he said, knowing that Herb had just moved. "But you'll have to do better than that."

Herb knew that. Jotaro may not be able to see in the dark like he was but he could feel him easily enough. He would just be less precise, to the point that he couldn't use shiatsu on Herb but not much below that. However, it took some of his awareness to pinpoint Herb's location. Herb was counting on that. He was under no delusion that Jotaro would lose awareness of his immediate surroundings. The man had a computer in lieu of his brain and recalled his surroundings even when there wasn't any light.

However, he didn't remember his remote surroundings that well. Herb was counting on it. He moved and attacked Jotaro. Jotaro deflected the hits easily enough, even though they came from everywhere. His Stand was watching his back. Then, as he was about to strike, Herb surprised him. Or rather, Nightwish did.

The Stand made the light suddenly reappear. Jotaro cursed. He was facing the sun and was momentarily blinded. Star Platinum wasn't but was facing the wrong direction. It turned around swiftly. But Herb had anticipated this and struck Jotaro's back. Only the fact that Jotaro was using hyposthenia avoided him a loss. Herb cursed softly. He had forgotten that Jotaro was at least as proficient in hyposthenia as he was. Fortunately, Herb had other strategies.

Herb took a small item from Hidden Weapon space. Jotaro widened as he saw Herb throw a grenade at him at such a short distance. Since Herb kept his eyes open and his breathing steady, it was neither a smoke grenade nor a flashbang. Jotaro jumped away to avoid the concussion grenade while keeping an eye on Herb. That was his mistake.

A blinding light burst from the grenade. It was a flashbang instead of a concussion grenade. The fact that Herb's Stand could disguise such a small item that fluidly was new to him. Jotaro closed his eyes in pain but managed not to curl on himself under the pain, no matter how much he wanted to. Herb was surely blind too and he might be able to capitalize on that. He jumped away silently. Only to be hit by Herb. Jotaro hadn't managed to prepare for hit and took the brunt of it.

'_Of course_,' he realised. '_Nightwish absorbs light. He got me good. Only one way to keep him away until I get my vision back._'

Herb was about to strike at Jotaro a second time when Jotaro flew into a stance that made him pause before backing away at high speed. He barely escaped Jotaro's multiple Kijin Raishu Dan. Herb knew the techniques too but Jotaro surpassed him by far given the ease and speed he could muster flowing between the Yamasen-ken and the Umisen-ken. Speaking of which...

Jotaro wasn't visible anymore. He had used the Umisen-ken to disappear from view. Herb could find him but he had to be given some time. He used another flashbang. Jotaro wouldn't be bothered by it but it would prevent him from finding Herb.

As the flashbang exploded, Nightwish created an invincibility illusion around Herb. Since Herb had moved, it would be hard for Jotaro to find him. Not impossible but hard. So they would be on an equal footing.

Herb looked at the battle ground, trying to find Jotaro. He suddenly reappeared, not that far from Herb. Herb was about to attack when he noticed that Jotaro had a multitude of rocks with him. And that his Stand was infused within him.

"I'll find you," he told in the thin air.

He then used the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken with his Stand and vital energy to throw the hundreds of rock around him. Herb avoided them easily enough. Why was Jotaro doing that?

The trenchcoat-clad man turned in Herb's direction.

"You're here," he said. He then shot a ki-blast in Herb's direction. Herb cursed and let the illusion unravel as he avoided the blast. Jotaro was on him in a second and started to pound him mercilessly. Herb flew away under the onslaught and landed roughly. He was lucky he knew Xiao-lee or he would be unconscious already. Jotaro closed on him as he rose up shakily.

'_I need an edge_,' he thought furiously as Nightwish landed on his shoulder. '_Or a miracle_.'

And it happened.

Herb jumped to avoid Jotaro and prepared for a follow up. Only Jotaro hadn't followed him. He was looking around. He then concentrated. And opened his eyes wide.

"The fuck?" he uttered.

Herb wondered what was happening when he saw his hand and almost gasped. Or rather, when he didn't see his hand. He turned where he knew his Stand was and saw nothing. If not for the sensory input he received, he wouldn't know his Stand was here.

"What's happening Jotaro?" asked Lime from afar.

"Herb vanished," replied Jotaro.

"That's not exactly new," retorted Mint.

"You don't understand," replied Jotaro. "He didn't just vanish visibly. There are no traces of his energy. Nothing. Not even the slight part that tells me that there's a living creature nearby. He totally dropped off of my radar."

Herb realised what was happening. Nightwish had just suppressed any radiations he might send off, including the non-visible ones. Herb had just performed true invisibility, rendering him totally transparent to any radiation he might cross or generate.

He capitalized on that and dashed at Jotaro. He started to pummel him mercilessly. Jotaro managed to avoid some of the hits with luck and to nullify others with Xiao-lee but many of them were still hitting him and it was starting to take a toll on him.

As Herb was about to finish him, Jotaro muttered something.

"I lose," he simply said.

The next thing Herb knew, several blows hit him and he fell unconscious.

* * *

**Stand Stats:**

A: Very Good / B: Good / C: Average / D: Bad / E: Poor

Nightwish

Strength: E / Speed: A / Range: A / Staying: B / Precision: C / Learning: B (previously C)

Ability: Can alter the course of light beams, allowing it to plunge a place in the dark or to create a sphere of illusion. Can see all kind of radiations, not the visible ones only. By touching its user, can suppress any kind of radiations he emits and annul any interaction between his body and outer radiations, making the user totally invisible.

* * *

Herb came to his senses soon after that. He looked around a bit disorientated before his gaze fell on Jotaro, who for some reason was female at the moment.

"You won," replied Jotaro. "But I didn't want to end up unconscious. I have bad memories of instants like that. So I used my final ability."

"Which is it?" asked Herb. "I didn't realise what happened. I was about to hit you when I fell unconscious."

"Watch closely," said Jotaro.

Jotaro was suddenly twelve metres away from them. Herb and Lime looked inquisitively at her as Mint's eyes widened.

"You didn't teach us this speed technique," said Herb idly.

"That's no technique," gulped Mint.

"What makes you say that?" asked Lime.

"I have a keen eye for movement," replied Mint with awe. "If it was a speed technique, no matter how fast it is, I should be able to see parts of it. I saw nothing. One moment he was here, the next moment he was away."

"You didn't think my Stand was all brawn and no ability, did you?" asked Jotaro while smirking at Herb.

"You can teleport?" asked Herb with awe.

"No, I just give the impression that I can," replied Jotaro. "What I do is increasing my speed to unimaginable levels. For what feels like five seconds to me, I am faster than light. I have calculated that my speed is at least of a billion kilometres per seconds. And that's the lower limit. I couldn't calculate a speed higher than that. For all I know, I'm even faster than that. Time loses its meaning at such speeds."

Herb looked at her flummoxed. This speed was totally unbelievable.

"It is impossible on a physical standpoint," he eventually said.

"Stands have the habit of breaking the laws of physics," retorted Jotaro. "My uncle's contradicts the second law of thermodynamics by reverting items to their original state and yours turns you in a literal void. You should stop worrying about it."

Herb digested it then had another question.

"Why are you in your female form?" he asked.

"Well, you are looking extremely manly right now," said Jotaro with a seducing smirk as she sashayed toward Herb before stopping in front of him in a pose that emphasized her assets. "What I want to know is... exactly how much?"

Herb stopped pondering and looked at her. Soon his eyes were burning with desire.

"Well, I did win against you," he said lecherously. "I think this begs for some prize."

Mint and Lime looked at each other before getting away as fast as they could. They could already hear them trash talking, moaning would soon follow. They wouldn't sleep much tonight, that was for sure.

The next morning, Mint and Lime were waiting for Jotaro and Herb to come down. They had debated on the merits of going back to find them before deciding that it was better for their sanity to just wait. Herb could make them invisible but they could still be heard.

Herb and Jotaro arrived, both in male form. Mint and Lime opened wide eyes at the implications.

"Did you... er... that is..." started Lime awkwardly. Herb wondered what he was talking about but Jotaro knew.

"No," he replied. "Not yet at least. I'll teach him about it later."

"What are you talking about?" asked Herb.

"Male homosexuality," replied Jotaro.

"Oh," responded Herb simply. "That's right, why didn't you teach me?"

"You exhausted me," replied Jotaro flatly. "After such an onslaught of pleasure I wasn't in any way ready to continue."

Herb blushed slightly. It was true that he had been relentless with Jotaro. But in all fairness, it was a form of payback.

"I'll teach you later," said Jotaro with a smile.

"When?" asked Lime. "Herb has to go back to his kingdom."

Herb opened his eyes slightly and got a sad face.

"Does he really have to?" countered Mint. "He could remain away for some time. Besides, I'm not sure he won't lose his title when he comes back due to his curse."

"That might be true but should we explain the situation to the king, I'm pretty sure he will leave him be," retorted Lime. "Besides, we can't let Ginger roam freely much longer. It's too dangerous for the kingdom."

Herb seemed torn. Jotaro saw that and intervened.

"You seem to be forgetting one crucial detail," he told harshly. "Herb and I are bonded. As such, we are closer to each other than husband and wife. As his mate, I'll have you know that I refuse any coercion from anyone on him, including from me. Although I'd rather remain some more in Japan. But the decision of going back to his kingdom lies in him, not you."

Mint and Lime looked properly chastised. Herb looked at Jotaro gratefully.

"I'd rather stay in Japan some more," admitted Herb. "There many things I can learn from that place."

Mint looked about to leave him be but Lime sighed.

"I don't really want to do this," he said, "but a prince gets rid of his retainers only when they deem him strong enough. It's a tradition of the Musk, one of the few I'm sure you've been taught."

Herb looked at him betrayed.

"You don't think I'm strong enough?" he asked harshly.

"I'm pretty sure you are," replied Lime inanely. "But I want a solid proof."

He then made a sign to Mint whose eyes widened before he nodded determinedly. Mint got rid of his pelt and fell into a stance that emphasized his speed. As for Lime, He got rid of his pelt and took a stance that emphasized his strength. Soon his clothes started to creak under the bulges created by his muscles. Then they tore audibly. Finally, Lime contracted himself slightly. His clothes were ripped apart and fell behind him. He then looked at Herb seriously.

"Fight us, Herb," he told him seriously. "If your freedom is so important for you, then prove it and take it from us."

Herb opened his eyes wide before he steeled himself. He took a fighting stance.

"Jotaro," he called.

"Yes?" replied Jotaro.

"Don't interfere," demanded Herb.

"I didn't plan to," replied Jotaro. "I won't need to."

Herb smiled when he heard this proof of trust while Jotaro backed up slightly. Unless he had totally misjudged the Musk warriors, this would be the greatest fight he had ever seen.

He wasn't disappointed.

Herb was facing Mint and Lime. At first glance, nothing was happening. But should a normal person come near, they would have been left shaking by the fighting intent displayed. None of it was visible but the feeling was that of being faced with several gigantic predators. Given that Lime was of tiger descent, Mint was of wolf descent and Herb was of dragon descent, it wasn't surprising.

The trio remained totally still for a minute. Then Herb blinked. That was all it took.

The next second, Mint was in his personal space and was pummelling him. However, Herb had prepared. He had expected it after all. None of Mint's hits did anything. Herb was using Xiao-lee with brio. A kick went into his belly and Herb rolled around it. It had been a bad idea. In retrospect, Herb should have recalled that although neither Lime nor Mint had mastered Xiao-lee and hyposthenia like he had, they had seen him use it enough to devise several counters to its weaknesses.

Herb's face met with Lime's punch. Herb should have remembered that the sum of his opponents was way more than simply arithmetic. They complemented each other perfectly. While Mint was extremely fast, Lime was monstrously powerful. Herb was still using Xiao-lee so the blow was softened. However, since Lime's hit had propelled him in a rocky cliff, he couldn't dissipate all the energy with hyposthenia. Herb became imbedded into the cliff. Before he could fully regain his bearings, Herb saw Mint and Lime dashing at him. He was in trouble.

It was high time he reminded them that he had mastered hyposthenia. And that it consisted in a release of the strength.

Herb punched the ground somewhat weakly. It was all that was needed. He might not have absorbed all the energy behind Lime's hit but he had enough. The punch created a crater that spread on the ground and made Mint and Lime lose their footing. It was all that Herb needed. He grabbed Mint's head and, with a ki-enhanced burst of strength and speed, threw him away. Mint flew over a hundred metres. It wouldn't stop him but it would give Herb some breathing space.

Lime jumped at Herb, intent on pummelling him. However, his efforts were for naught. Whatever hits Herb didn't deflect, he avoided. He didn't even use Xiao-lee. Lime might be strong but it was meaningless if he couldn't touch Herb. Even while using the Amazon's speed technique, Lime was slower. And when Herb used it too, the gap in speed became wider. Lime was tough but a thousand hits from someone of Herb's calibre still hurt!

At that moment, Mint came back and dashed at Herb and was about to hit him just before Lime. Herb noticed the hand reaching for him at high speed and relaxed totally so as to use hyposthenia. Then Mint's attack hit. Although it wasn't what Herb had been expected at all.

Herb's whole body tensed slightly as Mint pluck a hair from his mane. It wasn't much but it was enough to lose all benefits from Xiao-lee. Lime's two punches hit Herb in the solar plexus and in the abs and propelled him against the cliff once more. The duo approached Herb, who stood back up but didn't move as he was recovering from Lime's hit. The duo capitalized on that and went on the offensive. For the next five minutes, Herb desperately evaded the hits. Whenever he wanted to avoid Lime's punches, Mint was distracting him and he had to block. Whenever he wanted to retaliate, Lime would block him with his strength or Mint would anticipate and counter him too quickly for him to follow. Herb was losing.

At least that was what would appear to an untrained eye.

Jotaro noticed that Herb seemed to be testing his retainers. He had talked with Herb a lot over the previous months and Herb had taken most of his advises at heart. One of them was that Stands should only be used as last resorts in battle if no lives were at stake... or to mess with people's minds. Since this was the most serious fight Herb had ever been into, Jotaro knew that he was just testing the waters.

Herb suddenly jumped in the air and launched several Kijin Raishu Dan. Mint and Lime were surprised. They shouldn't have been. Herb wasn't a master at energy manipulation for nothing. He could launch ki-attacks on the spot with a ki build-up so short that it was nearly undetectable. Only Jotaro managed to do so. The two evaded the vacuum blades but remained together. It was an instictual tactic they had developed over the year. Lime would evade and Mint, whose reflexes and speed were extremely developed, would just follow. It had made them extremely dangerous. It was one of the reasons they were hailed as the most dangerous warriors of the Musk kingdom and had been appointed to train Herb.

But Herb wasn't finished. He performed a Ryu Sei Hisho while he was already flying and bombarded his retainers with several ki-blasts. Mint and Lime would seriously suffer from that. Unless they pulled all the stops. Which they did.

Herb landed and immediately regretted the air as he had to avoid both of his retainers under the effect of the energy surge. Mint was even faster while Lime became fast enough to pose great problems by himself to Herb. Herb frantically evaded while throwing a wide variety of ki-based attacks. Since he couldn't use the energy surge, he had to take every advantage he could get. The only problem was that he didn't manage to stop his retainers even with them. Mint was too fast to be touched by them and Lime took the brunt of them easily enough. It had become a battle of attrition and Herb was fairly sure that he would lose it.

He tried the Hiryuu Shoten Ha, which was the only attack that could possibly stop both of his retainers at once. But his retainers were smart enough to stop their output of ki whenever Herb started the spiral. Herb could always try to supply the hot ki by himself but he then had to perform the spiral in reverse and would then be unable to start the tornado from the centre.

Unless...

Herb used the Umisen-ken to get a reprieve. As his retainers were searching for him, he thought about it. It could work. But he would need something else. He perused his strong points and found them to be in the field of energy manipulation and hyposthenia. He smiled wickedly. Even Jotaro hadn't thought of that.

He reappeared and dashed at Mint and Lime before circling them. Seeing a spiral, the two of them stopped themselves to disrupt the flow of hot ki. When they saw Herb go further away from them, they wondered what he was doing. Mint tried to follow but recoiled when he felt the wall of ki.

"It burns!" he shouted.

He immediately started to emit cold ki and Lime did the same. They wondered why Herb was trying to burn them with his ki. It had no chance of working, although it was painful enough to immobilize them in the centre of the spiral. Herb was just wasting his energy.

Then why was he smiling?

Lime's eyes widened.

"He wants to start a Hiryuu Shoten Ha by inverting the roles of power output," he realised.

"No chance," replied Mint confidently. "He won't be able to start it. It would disrupt the spiral."

From afar, Jotaro's eyes widened and he smiled.

'_Well done, Herb_,' he thought.

Herb had discovered that, besides being able to create small illusions, his Stand could become visible to just everyone by modifying its radiations. Nightwish appeared between Mint and Lime who were a bit surprised by the appearance. Then the Stand soared to the sky while whirling on itself. Lime's and Mint's eyes widened. They remembered that the Stand could become tangible at will.

"SHIT!" they shouted together.

The air was moving from where the Stand had started his whirlwind movement. It soon became a monstrous wind that engulfed the two retainers. Lime barely had the time to grab Mint and to bury his hand in the ground before the tornado raged around them. Soon a hurricane was roaring around them. Lime had difficulties maintaining them on the ground. It was a good thing that they were near the eye of the tornado or the winds would have torn them from the ground. They couldn't escape it. They looked around to see what Herb was doing but didn't see him anywhere. They looked at Jotaro and notice that he was looking up the tornado. They did the same and their eyes widened.

Herb was being battered by the wind. He had been caught by the outer part of the tornado and was being brought up by it. Mint and lime were horror-struck until they realised something. Herb was letting himself be battered by the tornado. They wondered why.

Herb reached the apex of the tornado soon enough. Then he glowed. The upper part of the tornado suddenly coalesced around Herb.

"Hiryuu Korin Dan!" shouted Herb.

A monstrous mass of ki exited Herb's body and dashed towards the ground, funnelling the winds from the tornado with it to augment its size and power. Herb hadn't needed to make it particularly wide at the beginning since it fed on the tornado's ki. Mint and Lime gulped. They couldn't avoid it. This was going to hurt. A lot.

The mass of ki crushed them, digging a crater into the ground and hurling them into it. They were still conscious but would need some time to get their bearings back. Lime lifted his head and noticed that the Hiryuu Korin Dan had dried up the tornado. He lifted his head and saw Herb falling near them. He was about to send a punch, although a weak one. But why send it at the ground?

Lime's eyes widened as he understood what was about to occur.

"PROTECT YOURSELF!" he shouted at Mint.

Mint saw his friend adopt his strongest defence but he didn't have anything remotely as strong. That was his undoing.

Herb's fist touched the ground, almost gently. All the energy he had gained by using Xiao-lee while being battered by the tornado and had stored with hyposthenia was discharged in this hit. The amount of energy was staggering and was enhanced by the kinetic energy Herb had gained from falling from such heights. The ground instantly shattered and was repelled from around Herb, so much that Herb buried himself at least five metres deep into the earth. Then the shockwave occurred. A crater was created but in reverse. The ground flew from around Herb and was pulverised in shrapnel. Mint and Lime couldn't escape the shrapnel coming from under them, especially since the crater was fifty metres wide and five metres deep on its whole surface. Mint and Lime were engulfed in the shrapnel.

The ground shook and cracked beyond the crater. Jotaro turned around and his jaw would have fallen if he hadn't ever seen feats of that kind. He used a Time Stop. He had been right to do so. A second later, part of the cliff he was backing against fell. He looked up and saw that the summit of Mount Horai was collapsing. Fortunately, the resulting landslide was going on the opposite direction.

Herb looked in awe at the power he had unleashed. Mount Horai had just lost two hundred metres of height. He turned around, searching for his retainers with worry. He saw Mint lying on the ground. He had lacerations all around his body and was unconscious but seemed otherwise fine. Herb then searched for Lime and his jaw dropped.

Lime had become a ball of flesh. A literal ball. It was unnatural how a humanoid body could look so spherical, like an armadillo. Lime had lacerations too. But he was conscious.

"What are you waiting for, Herb?" he called.

"Mint is out of commission and you just barely escaped alive from an attack that destroyed a mountain," said Herb with disbelief. "And you still want to fight?"

"You haven't won yet," countered Lime.

Herb scoffed and dashed at Lime. He gained enough speed that his punch packed more kinetic energy than any of his previous physical attacks (those performed without hyposthenia at least). An almost metallic sound was heard as Herb hit Lime with all his might. He then opened wide eyes.

Lime hadn't even moved. The hit had done nothing to him. He was like a big metal ball. Actually, a metal ball would have flown back from Herb's hit. Lime hadn't even done that. Jotaro was impressed. It took a monstrous amount of control to block every cushioning articulation in one's body like Lime did. This combined with the rampant ki in his body due to his energy surge had made him unmovable and harder than any substance known to man.

Herb was so awestruck that he didn't have the time to react to Lime's attack. Lime's spherical shape opened at an incredible speed, like a nightmarish maw. He grabbed Herb's arm and dragged him back into the spherical shape. Herb started to gesticulate but it was for naught. Ineluctably, Herb was taken bit by bit into the sphere Lime's body constituted until nothing of him remained. Lime had swallowed him whole.

Jotaro frowned. Being encased in anything was extremely taxing on the body given the stress it created due to the absolute terror of not being able to move freely in a dark confined space. If Herb remained too long in this sphere, he would be too stressed to fight and would lose.

Lime's sphere opened and spit out Herb. Herb lay unmoving on the ground his breathing erratic. Lime uncurled and went near him. Jotaro looked at his downed mate and sighed with relief. He hadn't abandoned yet.

"It seems to me that I won," Lime said with something akin to regret before his voice hardened. "You won't be able to go on much longer. If you don't forfeit, I might be forced to deal real damage."

"That's why you lose," retorted Jotaro. Lime was startled and looked at him totally flummoxed.

"I have him at my mercy and you think I'm losing?" he asked dumbstruck. "What kind of reasoning is that?"

"A sound one," replied Herb calmly as his breathing slowed down. "You might be in a position of strength but you don't dare going too far on me. You want me to forfeit. You want to end this fight more than I do. For that, you're definitely closer than me to losing this fight."

Lime's jaw dropped at this rebuttal of his skill.

"How far the mighty have fallen," laughed Herb. "You don't even have the guts to finish me..."

Lime had had enough. He tried to stomp on Herb's head. Herb avoided, barely. Then Lime kicked him in the air and ate in again in his spherical defence. Jotaro frowned as he saw that the sphere tightened more than before.

Suddenly, Lime's face jerked up, an expression of intense pain carved into it. It was easy to see why. Herb had jabbed two of his fingers up Lime's nose. He could probably scrap Lime's brain that way. Herb looked slightly taxed but otherwise okay.

"You didn't think an attack would work twice on me, did you?" asked Herb. "Don't take me for a fool."

With a roar, Lime threw him away, making him crash on a nearby boulder, before holding his bloody nose. As he did that, Herb took time to regain his bearings, before he sighed. He then looked intently at Lime.

"I've had enough," he told him.

Lime stopped holding his bloody nose and looked at Herb inquisitively.

"What do you mean, Herb?" he asked harshly.

"I'm done playing 'My last secret attack' and 'My trump card'," said Herb with finality. "Against a paragon of strength like you, tricks are uncalled for, useless."

Jotaro leaned in. He had an idea about what was going to happen but this was insane. It was exactly the kind of thing he would do.

That's why it would probably work. Herb smiled like a child. A creepy chilled with a predatory smile that would make most people flee in fright.

"Let's just beat the tar out of each other," he said simply, making Lime's eyes widen. "Head on. Face to face. No dodging. Pound for pound. Like true men."

Lime couldn't help it. He laughed.

'_I would probably laugh too if someone a hundred and fifty kilos lighter than me told me to fight like a man_,' thought Jotaro with restrained awe. He still felt he had to warn Herb, even though he knew Herb wouldn't relent.

"Herb," he said warningly, "I'm not sure you understand the gap of weight between you two. There's a reason why boxing has seventeen weight classes. It would be as though you were trying to stop a freight train with your bare hands. Logic dictates that you will be crushed."

"I am beyond logic," retorted Herb. "And even with that, given that my freedom is on the line, this just means..."

Herb stood straighter than before and his smile became wider than ever.

"... that this fight is totally worth to die for," he finished.

Jotaro smiled proudly at him.

"Win," he simply told him.

In response, Herb hammered the boulder he was leaning on once with his back. No matter its size and weight, the boulder flew back.

'_No one can stop them..._' thought Jotaro.

Lime's smile soon matched Herb's.

'..._Rules don't matter..._' continued Jotaro.

The boulder landed near Jotaro.

'..._This is probably the greatest fist fight..._' added Jotaro.

The imprint of Herb's back was distinctively visible on the boulder. The muscles had been twisted in such a way that it looked like a dragon's face.

'..._The world has ever seen_,' finished Jotaro.

Herb and Lime dashed at each other before fists and faces collided.

* * *

The fight was felt all around the world.

Taro stopped training Hotaru and turned towards the west. He had a feeling that he was missing one hell of a fight. His pupil felt something but didn't quite know what.

In the Jusenkyohanten, Happosai, Akane and Mousse stopped on the spot before looking towards the west. Their blood boiled and they became somewhat restless.

In the Nekohanten, Cologne stopped on the spot and Shampoo couldn't help but shiver. Cologne was worried. The power she felt was insane.

In the Tendo household, both Genma and Soun shivered. They didn't want to face whoever was making them feel that way, not one bit.

Somewhere in the Alps (although he didn't know that), Ryoga turned to the direction of the fight, awfully curious. It should be noted that he did turn in the direction of the fight, however it was the longer one. He was looking straight to the west, across the Atlantic ocean, Northern America, the Pacific ocean, Japan, the East China Sea and finally Chinese mainland. But once again, he didn't know that. He just wondered how long he would last in the fight he felt.

Across Japan, several martial arts masters, including Goki Shibukawa, Doppo Orochi and Jack Hammer, turned towards the west. They recognized Herb's power and were proud of her.

As he was harassing one of his female clients, Ryo Saeba stopped, getting a mighty slap in the process. He didn't care this time. He hadn't felt fighting intent that powerful since, well, ever. The last time he had felt something even remotely approaching this intensity had been during his guerrilla years in South America and even then it hadn't been felt on more than ten kilometres. The intent he was feeling was coming from more than a thousand kilometres.

In the Bayankala Mountains, the Amazon elders panicked at the output of power. As for King Cinnamon, he paused slightly before grinning as he recognized his grandson's power.

* * *

Had anyone been here, they wouldn't have been able to see anything of the battle. It was too intense to look at and too fast to discern.

Jotaro wasn't anyone and as such he was able to see. It was incredible.

Both fist collided with opposing faces at the same time. Cheeks started to ripple. Then the bones collided and the heads began to back under the strength. Faces were distorted and eyelids were lifted from the eyes due to the insane change of speed. Blood started to appear in mouths. Both warrior were falling back before abdominal muscles contracted harshly and body tensed violently towards the front.

The next hits landed on their respective noses. At that point, both of them had closed their eyes. It wouldn't make any difference.

Herb and Lime were pounding each other's faces mercilessly. Nothing but elation and sheer will could be seen on their faces, even though they were distorted by the punches.

'_I realised one thing_,' though Herb as he pounded Lime's face mercilessly. '_To beat Lime, fighting techniques… or a clever mental strategy… or sneak attacks… all of them are useless._'

Lime punched Herb straight in the mouth, dislodging two teeth.

'_What I need to beat Lime_…' thought Herb, '_who is a hundred and fifty kilos heavier than me… is only more..._'

Herb carved Lime's face with his punch.

'_POWER!_' he roared internally.

Herb managed to pound Lime's face several more times.

'_Head on_!' he thought. '_No fear! Just head on! No retreat! Face him down until he falls back!_'

And Jotaro witnessed something incredible. Lime was falling back. Slowly but surely, his feet were leaving trails on the ground.

"Sublime," muttered Jotaro. "Dignified. Supreme. The kind of men you want to offer your sincere respects."

Lime was wondering what was happening.

'_He's pushing me back_,' thought Lime with awe. '_I'm the strongest Musk warrior and our prince is pushing me back. This young man who is lighter than half my weight is pushing me back._'

In a last surge of pride, Lime shot a last direct hit on Herb's nose, which broke some more, spraying blood on his lips. Herb's face was a mask of blood by thenand he was almost on autopilot. Lime noticed too late that he had grabbed his head and was contracting his abs. The headbutt he received caved his face in, breaking several bones, and at that moment, Lime knew he had lost. He couldn't help but smile.

Herb staggered for a fraction of second before he cocked back his fist for a devastating punch and sent it, intent on downing Lime for good. His punch met nothing but air as Lime fell back on the ground, unconscious. Herb's momentum took him forward and he tripped on Lime, crashing on the ground. He remained here for a few seconds before going back up with some difficulties. His face was marred with bruises and blood, one of his eyes was swollen shut, his nose was bent and he was missing several teeth but that was okay. He healed fast. Jotaro had seen him grow teeth back in two days. He grabbed his nose and set it back. He then looked back at Lime's body and saw Mint coming towards them, obviously straining and limping. Herb was about to go back in a fighting stance when Mint discarded that notion.

"I forfeit," he said. "I'm weaker than you and even though I'm faster than you, I won't be able to escape from you with a sprained knee. It's your victory."

Herb looked at him for a second before smiling widely. He then staggered and would have fallen on the ground had Jotaro not caught him. Jotaro laid him on the ground where he breathed raggedly.

"It took everything I had into me to beat him," he said between gulps or air.

"Not surprising," retorted Mint. "Lime hasn't been hailed the strongest Musk warrior of the millennium for nothing. Even your grandfather didn't manage to beat him with raw strength alone."

At that moment, Lime opened his eyes. He remained on the ground for a minute before sitting up. Seeing Mint, he managed to hold his bone enough to ask: "I lost, didn't I?"

"That you did," replied Mint. "That you did."

Lime smiled widely before looking at Herb.

"I guess this means that you go wherever you want," he told his prince. "Most assuredly with Jotaro."

Herb smiled in return.

"I guess this is goodbye," sighed Mint.

"Not yet," replied Jotaro.

"How come?" asked Lime inquisitively.

"I have a mission for you," answered Jotaro as he took several things from Doorspace.

Mint and Lime listened to him intently. By the end of the explanation, they were grinning grimly. Herb for his part had a terrifyingly predatory smile.

* * *

King Cinnamon was walking wearily towards the throne room. He had an audience with his son and several nobles. He sighed. His son had been trying to get him to enact a law that would squash liberties for normal people and would give more power to the nobles. He really didn't want to pass that law but they were starting to wear him down and he hadn't found a good excuse to definitively shut them up. He was wondering about his son sometimes. He loathed admitting it but there was something sinister in him. He was also worrying about his grandson. Mint and Lime had left a note saying that they would be training Herb for a while since he lacked knowledge concerning the world but it still had been some time.

Before he could get to the throne room, he was grabbed by the arm and brought into a nearby room. He took a stance so as to fight his abductor but paused when he recognized Mint and Lime.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked imperiously. "And where is my grandson?"

"Prince Herb is fine," answered Mint. "He just didn't come back with us. He fought us for the right to remain in Japan and won."

Cinnamon was relatively impressed.

"He managed to test out of his station at such a young age?" he said clearly pleased. "He is good."

"You're mistaken, my King," countered Lime. "We didn't test him, we fought against him, at the same time. He managed to take Mint out. And then, he did the impossible."

Cinnamon opened wide eyes.

"What did he do?" he asked.

"He beat me in a fist fight," replied Lime. "I was at full power and he pummelled me with his bare hands. Not even you managed to do that."

Cinnamon couldn't help it. He let his jaw drop. Dignity be damned, this was too impressive to remain stoic.

"Incredible," he managed to breathe.

"We came back straight to you since there are grave matters we need to attend to," said Mint after that.

Cinnamon instantly became dead serious.

"How grave?" he asked.

"We breached protocol to tell you, isn't it revealing?" asked Mint back.

"Fuck protocol," demanded the Musk King in the tone he used in war situations, "just tell me."

Lime took an audio player.

"There are several enlightening conversations that were recorded during our trip by a certain Jotaro Kujo," explained Lime. "Listen to them fully."

Cinnamon listened. His face became more and more rigid as he listened until it went slack. Lime and Mint straightened. They recognized this face. It was the face of a general ready to battle.

"We have some rats to flush," he said tonelessly.

Mint and Lime didn't want to be the target of the King's wrath. He was definitely pissed. Calling someone a rat was an insult of the worst kind among the Musk, liable to get someone in prison.

"We'll follow you," replied Mint. "But they won't see us."

Both warriors vanished as they used the Umisen-ken. Cinnamon was impressed. He would have to ask them how they did it.

* * *

Ginger was getting restless. He was supposed to have an audience with his father, along with several of his allies. He had had a hard time convincing his father to call an audience for the law he wanted to pass. He had reviewed a lot of arguments and had several tricks to make his father cave in and give him and the nobles more power over the Musk. He just hoped his father hadn't decided to stop when he was so close to his goal. He was pretty sure he would manage to convince his father to agree to the law he wanted to pass. The fact that Herb had gone away before he could denounce him had initially enraged him but it now worked to his advantage. His father was preoccupied by his grandson's absence and would fight less against laws that would cement his lineage.

At least, that was how Ginger and his allies would sell it. The possibility of the king actually reading fully between the lines was minimal.

The King finally entered the room. His gaze was neutral as usual. He started the audience and listened neutrally to Ginger's and the nobles' arguments.

"I'm not sure about this law," said Cinnamon while frowning. "It has uses but I could lead to abuse."

"Father!" said Ginger falsely shocked. "We have nothing but the best interests of the kingdom at heart."

"We support your son in every decision he makes," said a noble in a honey voice. "He is a wise leader."

"Including those on Herb's upbringing?" asked Cinnamon with an edge in his voice.

Ginger felt it and wondered what bothered his father. He seethed inside. Even though it now worked to his advantage, Herb had gone away too fast after being turned into a female. Ginger had hoped for him to be caught in the act and be executed. Then again, he just had to wait for him to come back to call for his execution, if the little bitch came back at all.

Ginger didn't like his plans being derailed, even if the end result was worth it.

"Totally," answered the noble. "We perused the curriculum he has demanded be taught to Herb and approved of it."

"That's what I thought," said Cinnamon with anger.

Suddenly, Mint and Lime appeared out of thin air. They looked ready to fight.

"Capture them all," he told his soldiers. "Leave my son to me."

Mint and Lime blurred. The nobles started to fall down one after the other. It was a remarkably one-sided fight. These power-hungry nobles hadn't trained for years and were no match for the most dangerous warriors of the kingdom. They fell down but remained conscious, obviously afraid. Ginger reeled back in shock as his father prowled towards him in a threatening pose.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked in a trembling voice. "Don't you trust me?"

"Your son and his retainers told me several things," replied Cinnamon in anger, and Ginger paled. "How you sabotaged his education, how you told him almost nothing of his heritage, how you tried to destitute him, how you tried to have him executed by plotting against him..."

Ginger backed up against a wall. He was discovered! His bastard son had outsmarted him. He snarled in anger. Cinnamon noticed this and became angrily.

"Since you don't seem to regret any of it, you lose your right to call yourself his father," he told his son. "And you lost every right to call yourself my son. You'll never be able to access to the throne, I'll make sure of that. You'll rot in a cell and become a waste of human flesh. You deserve that and nothing else!"

Ginger had a mixture of rage and fear in his eyes. It was soon replaced by pain as Cinnamon pummelled him. Ginger soon fell unconscious under the pain. Cinnamon then dislocated each and every one of the articulations on his limbs and tinkered with them before setting them back. He had destroyed all the cartilage that remained. Ginger would still be able to move but the pain that resulted would be so intense that he wouldn't be able to move for long.

Cinnamon looked disgusted at his son before calling his guards to throw him and the nobles in cells. The nobles tried to protest but were silenced when they learnt that they would be interrogated thoroughly. He then sighed and turned towards Lime and Mint.

"We will need a new governing body," he said. "And I will need new advisors. I will need your input on that."

Lime smiled before taking a book and holding it for the King.

"What is this?" asked Cinnamon inquisitively.

"Herb's suggestions on politics and economics," replied Mint. "Thought for the Musk kingdom and compiled by Jotaro Kujo. You should look at them, there are some very good ones."

Cinnamon read the book and was impressed. By the end of the month, half of the suggestions would be applied, triggering a revolution in the kingdom and making it more thriving than it had been during the previous five millennia. The emancipation of women was the main change, as well as allowing them among the warriors. Several valiant ones distinguished themselves soon. Some retrograde men grumbled against it but were soon silenced, especially since this change came along with more power given to the peasants and the low class. Although there wasn't exactly a high class anymore since almost all of the nobles had all been thrown in jail. The people soon thrived and Herb became a legend as the exiled genius. The people were waiting for him to come back. They knew he would be a fair and good ruler.

* * *

Deep inside the Musk royal prison, Ginger seethed. His bastard son, who should have remained his bitch of a daughter, had reduced years of careful planning in cinder. All because he didn't die when needed. He would pay. Oh, how much the little whore would pay...

The howling of a noble made Ginger shiver. He wasn't looking forward to being interrogated. Then the wariness made place to hatred. And hatred fed on hatred…

As Ginger's body and mind decayed due to his new station, his hatred festered and grew.

* * *

Michiru was walking with Haruka in Juuban's park, bringing Hotaru back home. Not that the young girl needed it given what Taro had taught her, but she liked the dark purple-haired girl. Taro was fun too, especially when he was training the girl. He used the strangest ways to unsettle her, a habit he had no doubt gotten from dealing with Jotaro. Come to think of it, it had been quite some time since she had seen Jotaro. He had even missed the exams to college. According to Taro, he had gone to help someone from China. It had been three months since he had departed.

Haruka took her out of her reverie.

"Isn't that your ex?" said Haruka as she pointed in front of them. Michiru and Hotaru looked intently towards where Haruka had pointed. Jotaro was treading there calmly in his male form. But he wasn't alone. A tall individual with red eyes, a mane of tri-coloured hair and wearing scaly armour was with him. What surprised them was how content Jotaro looked. He wasn't often that relaxed, even in pleasant company.

Michiru looked a bit dumbstruck. Then she understood and smiled widely. Hotaru was less reserved and dashed at Jotaro with an impressive smile. Jotaro was smiling at her. Then he surprised her.

As soon as she was close enough, he punched her.

However, as surprised as she was, Hotaru was ready. Months or repeating the same movements had burnt them deep into her psyche. She evaded, if barely, grabbed Jotaro's arm and threw him over her. Jotaro flew over her and landed gracefully. He looked at her with pride in his eyes.

"Taro taught you well," he told her.

"That he did," replied Hotaru with a smile. "That he did."

Michiru approached Herb and looked at him intently from every angle, much to his surprise and a little bit of unease. Haruka smiled widely. She knew Michiru liked to unsettle people. Most of the time she was the butt of the joke, something she'd have gladly avoided. The things she did for love…

"So you're Jotaro's new boyfriend?" asked Michiru with a smile. Herb was a bit dumbstruck.

"I am," replied Herb, "sometimes. Who are you?"

Michiru lifted an eyebrow at the 'sometimes'.

"His former girlfriend," she answered. "I dumped him for Haruka here and was a bit unsure he would recover from it, even though he didn't show it. I'm glad he found you. I have never seen him that happy. He was right when he said that we weren't meant to be."

"Thank you," he replied. "You are Michiru Kaioh, then. Jotaro said nothing but good things about you. You helped him a lot from what he told me."

"It was my pleasure," downplayed Michiru before getting a lecherous smile. "In the literal meaning of the term." Behind her, Haruka groaned, Jotaro smirked and Hotaru giggled. Herb was a bit flustered.

"What did you mean by 'sometimes'?" added Michiru.

"Oh… I have the same curse as his," replied Herb.

Michiru's eyes widened before she laughed happily. She then turned towards Jotaro.

"You found your perfect match!" she gushed happily. "If anything it must make things very interesting in bed."

Herb blushed somewhat as Jotaro heartily approved. Haruka palmed her face.

"I was a perverted girl who liked to make other girls blush," she told Hotaru. "I always found them cute when they blushed. Then I met Michiru. I have yet to make her blush, this girl is more perverted than I am." She turned towards Jotaro and pointed an accusing finger towards him. "And it is all your fault! Did you have to turn her that way?"

"No, but I sure had fun doing so," replied Jotaro with a smile. "Besides, you don't really have to complain."

Hotaru laughed at Haruka's disgruntled face. The group made its way to bring Hotaru back home, then Haruka and Michiru. It wouldn't do to have Suedo upset. The man took his new duty very seriously. There had been a fun moment when Herb had recalled that Suedo only knew his female form and had splashed himself. Haruka's jaw had dropped and it had taken Michiru hitting her on the head to get her back to reality. Haruka looked at Michiru dumbly before looking back at Herb.

"If I weren't with you," she told Michiru with a straight face, "I would totally go after her. She's hot!"

It had gotten her a slap from Michiru, an impassive gaze from Jotaro and a blush from Herb. Then she had had to grovel to Michiru and beg for forgiveness. Michiru knew her lover wouldn't betray her but it was fun making her beg and she suspected the blonde liked it too.

After that, the cursed duo had returned to the Jusenkyohanten. There had been a small party with Mousse, Akane, Tofu, Mikoto, Happosai and Taro. They had gone to bed early. The next day, they had to register Herb at Furinkan.

* * *

A.N : It's been a long time... I did warn you. Plus, I've had some difficulties in writing chapter 29 and it reflected on my update rate.

The fist fight is another rip-off of Baki, the tenth volume of the third season to be precise. Oliver Biscuit vs. Baki Hanma. Probably my favourite in the whole saga.

Next time, Hinako arrives. Along with a different kind of craziness.


End file.
